Two more New Jersey doctors have admitted to federal charges of accepting bribes in exchange for test referrals, as part of a long-running scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), its president, and numerous associates, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced Sept. 16. Eugene DeSimone, who practiced in Secaucus, N.J., and Douglas Bienstock, whose practice was in Hawthorne, N.J., each pleaded guilty to one count of accepting bribes before Judge Stanley R. Chesler of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark. DeSimone admitted accepting $1,500 in cash payments monthly between August 2010 and March 2013, in return for referring patient blood specimens to BLS, which is based in Parsippany, N.J., according to documents filed in this and related cases and statements made in court. The laboratory received a total of $980,000 in reimbursement from Medicare and private payers for the tests DeSimone referred, the government alleged. Bienstock admitted that in return for referrals of patient blood specimens to BLS, he was paid $2,560 per month under a sham service contract with BLS that ostensibly reimbursed him for basic blood drawing services. Cash Paid for Each Test Referred The payments far exceeded fair market value…
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