June 1, 2016
Dr. Jonathan Oppenheimer, former owner and CEO of Nashville drug testing laboratory
Prost-Data, Inc. (d/b/a OURLab),
OPKO Health, Inc., and
OPKO Lab, have agreed to pay $9.35 million to resolve charges they violated the False Claims Act by providing illegal kickbacks in exchange for business. According to the government, Dr. Oppenheimer and OURLab made donations toward electronic health records (EHR) systems purchased by their client physician practices that fell outside the restrictions set forth in the Anti-Kickback Statute EHR safe harbor and the Stark EHR exception. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former OURLab employee under the
qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. The whistleblower will receive a whistleblower award of $1.683 million from the proceeds of the government's recovery.
DOJ (MDTE)