NEWARK, NJ—A doctor in Montclair, New Jersey, was sentenced Thursday to 16 months in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for medical test referrals to Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC, of Parsippany, New Jersey, officials said.
Charles Goldberg, 61, had plead guilty to one count of accepting bribes.
Including Goldberg, 34 people—23 of them physicians—have pleaded guilty in connection with the long-running bribery scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services from Medicare and various private insurance companies, according to authorities.
According to the evidence, this is what happened:
Goldberg admitted accepting bribes of $1,800 per month through a sham lease agreement with Laboratory Services, which identified the waiting room, bathroom and one examination room in Goldberg’s office as being leased.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Stanley Chesler ordered to forfeit $58,000, for the bribes he accepted.