DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — A Delray Beach man has pleaded guilty to a $6.9 million conspiracy to defraud Medicare.
According to a release from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Christopher Licata, 45, admitted that as the owner of Boca Toxicology LLC (doing business as Lab Dynamics), he bribed patient brokers who would refer Medicare beneficiaries and doctors' orders authorizing medically unnecessary genetic testing to Licata's laboratory.
The DOJ said that once the COVID-19 pandemic began, Licata exploited patients' fears of COVID-19 by bundling COVID-19 tests with more expensive, medically unnecessary testing.
In total, Licata's laboratory submitted over $6.9 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary tests.
Licata pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 24 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.