An Aventura-based laboratory owner, Leonel Palatnik, pleaded guilty this week to involvement in a medicare kickback scheme that totaled a brow-raising $73 million. The plot, which involved his lab Panda Conservation Group LLC and co-conspirator Michael Stein of 1523 Holdings LLC, took advantage of temporary COVID-19 telehealth amendments to authorize extremely costly cancer and genetic testing that was deemed medically unnecessary.
According to a press release from the Department of Justice “Panda’s owners and Stein entered into a sham contract for purported IT and consultation services to disguise the true purpose of these payments.” Investigators claim that the true nature of the payments pointed to kickbacks Palatnik made to Stein in exchange for referring telemedicine providers to authorize testing orders for Panda’s labs which were then billed back to Medicare.
Palatnik pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to offer kickbacks and one count of paying the kickback to Stein. He could face up to 15 years in prison for these charges when his sentencing rolls around in November.
This case was part of a larger COVID-19 Health Care Fraud coordinated sting which has targeted 14 other defendants thus far. Given the high costs associated with these healthcare fraud cases and their location here in the Southern District of Florida, we will continue to monitor them as they progress. If you or your organization is under investigation for health care fraud and are looking for a skilled defense attorney, call the team at Padula Law to set up a confidential consultation.
