An owner of a blood diagnostic company located in Essex County, was sentenced today to nine months in prison for paying a doctor cash bribes for patient lab work referrals, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Phillip Biondello, 49, of Basking Ridge, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to an information charging him with violating the Anti-Kickback Statute. Judge Arleo imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From June 2011 through June 2013, Biondello paid a doctor cash bribes in return for patient blood sample referrals to Biondello’s company, including a $24,000 bribe paid to the doctor on May 7, 2013. The doctor’s referrals generated approximately $176,710.84 for Biondello’s company.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Arleo sentenced Biondello to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman reorganized the health care fraud practice shortly after taking office, creating a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses. Since 2010, the office has recovered more than $1.29 billion in health care fraud and government fraud settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other statutes.