Healthcare executive gets prison time for role in $100M bribery scheme involving 38 physicians

David Nicoll, president of Parsippany, N.J.-based Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services, was sentenced to six years in prison June 13 for his leading role in a fraud scheme in which physicians were paid kickbacks for blood sample referrals worth more than $100 million, according to the Department of Justice.

Mr. Nicoll and his brother, who was a senior employee at the now-defunct company and was recently sentenced to more than three years in prison, each previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Federal Travel Act and one count of money laundering.

According to court documents, BLS paid kickbacks to physicians in cash or under the guise of sham leases, service agreements and consulting agreements. The company paid some physicians a fee per test to get them to order more tests.

The bribes paid to the physicians resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various commercial insurers between 2006 and April 2013.

The investigation into the bribery scheme resulted in the convictions of 53 people, including 38 physicians. The DOJ said it is believed to be the largest number of medical professionals ever prosecuted in a bribery case.

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