Imagimed Settles Healthcare Fraud Claims for $3M; Whistleblower to Get $565K
New York-based Imagimed LLC and its former owners, William B. Wolf III and Dr. Timothy J. Greenan, and its former radiologist, Dr. Steven Winter, have agreed to pay $3.57 million to resolve allegations that they knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to federal healthcare programs for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) services, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week. Imagimed owns and operates 15 MRI facilities under the name “Open MRI.”
Imagimed, Greenan, Wolf and Winter allegedly submitted claims to Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE for MRI scans performed with a contrast dye without the direct supervision of a qualified physician. Since a potential adverse side effect of contrast dye is anaphylactic shock, federal regulations require that a physician supervise the administration of contrast dye. Imagimed, Greenan, Wolf and Winter also allegedly submitted claims for services referred to Imagimed by physicians with whom Imagimed had improper financial relationships. In exchange for these referrals, Imagimed entered into sham on-call arrangements, provided pre-authorization services without charge and provided various gifts to certain referring physicians, in violation of the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute.
The lawsuit was originally filed by Dr. Patrick Lynch, a local radiologist, under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud against the government to sue on behalf of the government and share in the recovery. Dr. Lynch will receive $565,000 as his share of the settlement.
The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments. We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who expose every kind of fraud against the government, including health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud. Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.