Lab owner pleads guilty in $130M Medicare fraud scheme

A Lavaca, Ark., man who owned clinical labs in several states pleaded guilty to his role in a $130 million Medicaid fraud scheme. 

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From November 2017 to May 2021, Billy Joe Taylor, 43, and his co-conspirators submitted and received payment for thousands of Medicare claims for lab tests that had never been ordered or performed, according to an Oct. 27 Justice Department news release. Of the $130 million in claims submitted by the labs during that span, Medicare paid about $38 million. 

The five labs owned by Mr. Taylor and his co-conspirators were located in Arkansas, North Carolina, California and Oklahoma, according to the release. 

Sentencing is expected to take place in early 2023 and Mr. Taylor faces up to 20 years in prison, according to the release. 

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