Richard DeFoore Agreed to Be Excluded for 3 Years for Arranging with Laboratories to Pay Kickbacks to Physicians

On April 28, 2021, in connection with the resolution of his False Claims Act liability, Richard DeFoore (DeFoore), Texas, agreed to be excluded under 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7(b)(7) for three years. DeFoore was the former Chief Executive Officer of Jones County Regional Healthcare d/b/a Stamford Memorial Hospital (Stamford), a small hospital in Stamford, Texas. In late 2015 and early 2016, DeFoore allegedly was approached by representatives of a laboratory and a partner company, who proposed an arrangement by which Stamford could profit by billing for diagnostic laboratory tests. Under the arrangement, which expanded to include another laboratory, Stamford allegedly coordinated with the laboratories and paid volume-based commissions to independent contractor recruiters, who used management service organizations to make payments to physicians that were disguised as investment returns but in fact were based on, and offered in exchange for, the physicians’ referrals. Senior Counsel Karen Glassman represented OIG.

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