RVC doctor admits to taking bribes

A doctor with a practice in Rockville Centre admitted to accepting bribes in exchange for test referrals as part of a long-running and elaborate scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), of Parsippany, N.J., its president and numerous associates, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Brett Halper, 41, of Glen Head, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court earlier this month to an information charging him with one count of accepting bribes.

Including Halper, 38 people — 26 of them doctors — have pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies. The investigation has so far recovered more than $10.5 million to date through forfeiture.

According to documents filed in this and related cases and statements made in court, Halper admitted that from January 2011 through April 2013, he accepted bribes in return for referring patient blood specimens to BLS and was often paid in excess of $5,000 per month. Halper’s referrals generated approximately $2.9 million in lab business for BLS.

The bribery count to which Halper pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for June 30.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert; IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; and inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates, with the ongoing investigation.