NEWARK, N.J. – An internist with a practice in Montclair, N.J., admitted today accepting bribes in exchange for test referrals as part of a long-running scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), of Parsippany, N.J., its president and numerous associates, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Charles Goldberg, 60, of West Orange, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of accepting bribes.
Including Goldberg, 23 people – 12 of them physicians – have pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies.
According to documents filed in these and related cases and statements made in court:
Goldberg admitted accepting bribes of $1,800 per month through a sham lease agreement with BLS, which identified the waiting room, bathroom and one examination room in Goldberg’s office as being leased.
The bribery count to which Goldberg pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced on a date to be determined. As part of his guilty plea, Goldberg agreed to forfeit $58,000, representing the bribes he received from BLS.
The BLS investigation has recovered more than $7 million to date through forfeiture.
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