A Kentucky psychiatrist is the latest to plead guilty in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh to health care fraud in a kickback scheme for referring patients to a now-defunct drug testing lab in Hempfield.
Varanise C. Booker, 66, of Louisville, pleaded guilty to one count before Senior U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman.
Booker admitted that she was a licensed psychiatrist who operated a medical practice, Family and Children Behavioral Health Services, in Louisville, Ky., that referred patients for drug testing and related services performed by Universal Oral Fluid Labs, a clinical drug testing and drug screening laboratory on Willow Crossing Road in Hempfield.
Prosecutors said Booker received $843,000 in kickbacks.
In July, the former owner of the lab, William Hughes, 74, of Pittsburgh, was sentenced to 60-days in prison, followed by 12 months of home detention in connection with the unlawful kickbacks-for-referrals scheme.
Hughes was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, forfeit more than $750,000 in seized assets and make restitution of $1.67 million to the Kentucky Medicaid Program.
Kaufman said Booker acknowledged in her plea that she did not document a legitimate justification for ordering certain drug tests and services, failed to document the results of certain drug tests and services performed by the lab in her medical files, and failed to address the results of certain drug tests and services in the treatment of her patients.
In 2019, four doctors agreed to settle allegations they received improper payments from the lab for referrals. Dr. Robert Fetchero of Jeannette agreed to pay $200,000 to settle an allegation that he received kickbacks; Dr. Sridhar Pinnamaneni of Windermere, Fla.. agreed to pay $370,000; Dr. Thelma Green-Mack of Zionsville, Ind., agreed to pay $130,000 and a second Florida doctor, Dr. Nathan Hanflink of Mt. Dora, Fla., agreed to pay more than $911,000.
Cercone scheduled Booker’s sentencing for 11:30 a.m. Feb. 10.
The law provides for a total sentence of not more than 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.
