A federal judge has granted prosecutors’ requests to intervene in whistleblower complaints against Comprehensive Pain Specialists (CPS), and Tennessee Sen. Steve Dickerson (R-TN-20) is being added as a defendant, multiple media outlets report.
Judge Aleta Trauger of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee granted the federal and state prosecutors’ requests, according to MSN. They have 90 days to file their own complaints.
Several lawsuits filed by former employees of CPS were unsealed Tuesday, accusing the leaders, including Dickerson, of a fraud scheme, NewsChannel 5 said. They allegedly made millions of dollars in payments from Medicare and violated the False Claims Act.
Suzanne Alt of Missouri is a former CMS employee who alleges in the main complaint that the company made false claims for lab tests that were not needed. The court document said she “was personally told to increase the frequency of the drug screens” that were most costly instead of a cheaper alternative.
The lawsuits have been consolidated into one case, and although the main complaint does not specifically mention the lawmaker, Dickerson is named in one of the suits alongisde co-founder Dr. Peter Kroll and former CEO John Davis.
On April 8, The Tennessee Star reported that a federal jury in Nashville found Davis, the former CEO of the Gallatin pain management company, guilty for his alleged role in a $4 million Medicare claim kickback scheme.
Davis was convicted of all counts including one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, and seven counts of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute, U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee said.
Dickerson, a physician, was a founder and co-owner of the company, beginning in 2005.
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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Photo “Steve Dickerson” by Steve Dickerson.
[…] A federal judge in April granted prosecutors’ requests to intervene in whistleblower complaints against CPS, and Dickerson was added as a defendant, The Tennessee Star reported. […]