NEWARK, N.J. — Tauqir Khan, a 65-year-old resident of Pennington, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute in a scheme related to COVID-19 testing. The admission was made before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Khan and his co-conspirators were involved in a scheme to receive kickbacks for referring COVID-19 test samples to Metpath Laboratories, a clinical testing facility in Parsippany, New Jersey. Metpath subsequently billed Medicare and other healthcare benefit programs for these tests.
“This office is committed to using all the tools at our disposal to keep illegal kickbacks out of our health care system and preserve the integrity of medical decision making,” said U.S. Attorney Sellinger.
FBI – Newark Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy added, “It may take time, but FBI Newark and our law enforcement partners are bringing to justice those who stole money that wasn’t intended for their bank accounts.”
The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross profit or loss caused by the offense, whichever is greater. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 11, 2024.