A New York man pleaded guilty in Newark federal court Monday for his role in a kickback scheme involving COVID-19 testing, U.S. District Attorney Philip Sellinger announced on Tuesday.
David Weathers, 61, of Bronx, pleaded guilty to his involvement in soliciting kickbacks for the referral of COVID-19 test samples before U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti, authorities said.
Weathers and co-conspirators solicited kickbacks in exchange for providing COVID-19 test samples to Metpath Laboratories, a clinical laboratory in Parsippany, that conducted testing to detect COVID-19 in samples obtained from individual patients, according to court documents.
Metpath paid kickbacks for the referrals of COVID-19 test samples while billing Medicare and other health care programs for the tests – leading to a loss of more than $3.5 million for federal programs, authorities said.
“The defendant in this case has admitted to seeking payments for sending COVID-19 tests to a particular lab for processing,” Sellinger said in the release. “There is no place in our healthcare system for illegal payments made in an attempt to influence medical decisions. My office will continue to prosecute those who attempt to corrupt the health care system.”
Weathers faces up to five years in prison and a fine when he is sentenced, scheduled for July 10. Weathers was represented by Jeffery Greco.
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Deion Johnson may be reached at djohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Instagram at @DeionRJohnson or X @DeionRJohhnson
