The former CEO of a Texas hospital has been sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for his role in conspiring to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute.
Jeffrey Madison, who previously served as CEO of Little River Healthcare in Rockdale, Texas, was sentenced Jan. 15, according to a news release from the Justice Department.
In October, he agreed to pay more than $5.3 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act related to illegal payments tied to laboratory referrals.
Mr. Madison and four others were found guilty in November 2023 of conspiring to commit illegal remunerations in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. Federal law prohibits receiving, soliciting, paying, or offering remuneration to induce referrals for services covered by federal healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Little River Healthcare and Stamford (Texas) Memorial Hospital partnered with Framingham, Mass.-based clinical laboratory Boston Heart Diagnostics to operate a kickback scheme, according to the release.
Read the full release here.