A medical imaging firm has been ordered to pay $16.2 million for violating the False Claims Act by defrauding Medicare.

A federal judge in a default judgment ordered Orthopaedic and Neuro Imaging LLC, a Delaware-based company, and its owner, Richard Pfarr, to pay the hefty fine for administering contrast dye to patients during MR scans without proper supervision by a physician, and then intentionally submitting false claims for them to Medicare in exchange for reimbursement. Pfarr is responsible for paying $6.1 million of the total.

The lawsuit, filed by former employee Robin White, was submitted for judgment last month by prosecutors after learning that the defendants did not intend to seek further defense, according to the Associated Press.
White, in accordance with the judgment, is set to receive an 18 percent share of the recovery.

A South Carolina health system in September paid half of this amount as a settlement with the Department of Justice after being accused of using inaccurate billing codes with Medicare and other payors to falsely suggest that physicians were present to oversee radiology and oncology services.

Pfarr and Medicare did not respond for comment.

MRI Homepage