Houston diagnostic centers fined $2.6M

Two Houston-area diagnostic centers have agreed to pay hefty fines to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

One Step Diagnostic, owned by Fuad Rehman Cochinwala, will pay $1.2 million to settle allegations that the company violated the Stark Statue and False Claims Act by entering into bogus consulting and medical director agreements with physicians who referred patients to the facilities.

Also implicated in Medicare billing fraud accusations was Rahul Dhawan, owner of Complete Imaging Solutions LLC, which operates six imaging centers in the Houston area.

Dhawan has agreed to pay $1.45 million to the U.S. government after allegations that his centers engaged in improper financial relationships with referring physicians and improperly billed Medicare using the provider number of a physician who had not authorized them to do so and had not been involved in the provision of the services being billed, according to a DOJ statement.

The settlements resulted from a lawsuit filed by three whistleblowers under a provision in the False Claim Act that allows private citizens to bring suit on behalf of the government for false clams and share in financial recovery.