In Brief: Damon Labs indictments
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Damon Labs indictments: Justice Department indicts four former executives of Damon Clinical Laboratories on charges that they conspired to defraud Medicare of "over $25 mil.," according to a Jan. 22 release from the Office of the U.S. Attorney General. Charged are Joseph Isola, Beno Kon, William Thurston and Gerald Kullen. The indictment alleges that the four individuals were involved in a scheme while at Damon to defraud Medicare by adding the infrequently ordered serum ferritin test to a commonly ordered panel of blood chemistry tests, and the apolipoproteins test to a coronary risk profile panel. The indictment also charges that Isola, Kon and Thurston manipulated physician practice by dividing a common test panel for end-stage renal disease patients into two separate panels for which samples were taken on different days. In October 1996, Damon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud Medicare and paid criminal and civil fines totaling $119 mil...