Business ProfileforMidtown Imaging of West Palm Beach

As of June 8, 2011, the following was issued by the U.S. Department of Justice:

Midtown Imaging LLC, a radiology clinic, and its former principal
s Midtown Imaging P.A. and PBC Medical Imaging have agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that the clinic violated the False Claims Act, the Justice Department announced today. The West Palm Beach clinic is alleged to have submitted false claims to Medicare during the period 2000 through 2008 by entering into certain leasing and professional services agreements with referring physicians and physician groups that violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law.
The Anti-Kickback Statute, among other things, prohibits offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid or other federally-funded programs. The Stark Law prohibits a hospital from profiting from patient referrals made by a physician with whom the hospital has an improper financial arrangement. Both the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law are intended to ensure that a physician's medical judgment is not compromised by improper financial incentives and are based solely on the best interests of the patient.
Midtown Imaging was named as a defendant in a suit brought in 2009 by two former Midtown Imaging radiologists under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private citizens with knowledge of fraud against the government to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. The lawsuit alleged that Midtown Imaging entered into prohibited financial relationships with certain physicians and physician groups. Under the civil settlement announced today, the whistleblowers, Dr. Teresa M. Cortinas and Dr. Walter E. Wojcicki, will receive $600,000.
The case was handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department's Civil Division. The investigation was conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General.

For further assistance please contact the Attorney General at U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001, phone 202.514.2000 or for the Office of the Attorney General Public Comment Line 202.353.1555.