A California man sentenced late last month following his conviction for being part of a $28 million genetic testing kickback scheme helped make medical care more expensive for taxpayers, a U.S. attorney said in a news release.
Vincent Marchetti Jr., 58, of Coronado, California was sentenced on Aug. 30 to four years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release issued the following day.
"Taxpayers deserve to have their tax dollars spent judiciously and within the confines of appropriate laws and rules," U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston, the chief federal law enforcement official in Texas' Eastern District, said in the news release. "The intentional failure to do so breeds a lack of confidence in valuable processes that ensure efficient use of money for the benefit our citizens."
Kickback schemes such as that for which Marchetti was convicted make medical care all the more expensive, Featherston said.
"Kickback arrangements like these add costs, not value," he said. "Unfortunately, those costs were borne by American taxpayers. This case sends a message that no matter who you are, if you do wrong, you will be found out, and you will be brought to justice. I congratulate the prosecution team on a job very well done."
Marchetti was convicted by an East Texas jury in December, after a month-long trial, for his alleged part in a $28 million health care kickback scheme. Marchetti allegedly conspired with others in the scheme to pay and receive the kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals for pharmacogenetic testing, genetic testing to identify genetic variations. Pharmacogenetic testing helps determine how a patient metabolizes certain drugs.
The "illegal arrangement" included referrals to clinical laboratories in Fountain Valley, Irvine and San Diego, California.
"More than $28 million in illegal kickback payments were exchanged by those involved in the conspiracy," DOJ said in its news release.
In December 2019, twelve alleged conspirators in three states were charged in the kickback conspiracy and a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas later indicted Marchetti and others in the alleged scheme.
The amount taken in during the conspiracy is just a drop in the bucket of what healthcare fraud takes in each year, Homeland Security Investigations Dallas Special Agent in Charge Lester R. Hayes Jr. said in the news release.
"Health care fraud is estimated to cost the U.S. over $68 billion annually," Hayes said. "Each time a fraudulent claim or medical kickback scheme is discovered, the foundation of our national health care system is in jeopardy. Our special agents will work tirelessly to bring those to justice who attempt to defraud our health care system."
Marchetti's role in the scheme played its part in annual health care fraud, FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno said in the news release.
"The defendant exploited the healthcare industry by conspiring with others to pay and receive illegal kickbacks in order to enrich himself," DeSarno said. "The defendant's conduct taints the efforts of hardworking healthcare workers who are dedicated to acting in the best interest of their patients. The FBI will continue to work with our public and private sector partners to pursue individuals who exploit patients and insurance holders for their own financial benefit."
