Article arranged by: Chelsea L. Gulinson
Physician groups are frequently approached with “business opportunities” that sound routine, such as equipment leases, administrative services agreements, space rentals, and networking events. But all too often, those offers are really just dressed-up referral schemes that can land physicians in trouble. Two recent federal cases are important reminders that when it comes to vendor relationships, labels matter far less than substance.
In February 2026, a formal national sales director for a mobile medical diagnostics company was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay over $27 million for his role in running a long-time kickback scheme.[1] The diagnostics company entered into rental and administrative services agreements with physician practices that made it appear that the practices were compensated for the company’s use of space and administrative resources based on fair market value, not on the volume or value of referrals. These agreements hid the true nature of the arrangement: that the sales director and his company paid the physician practices money based on the number of brain scans that the doctors ordered.
In March 2026, an AmerisourceBergen subsidiary agreed to pay $1 million resulting from an alleged scheme that violated the False Claims Act.[2] The subsidiary and its related entities were accused of providing golf trips, outings at bars and night clubs, and meals at high-end restaurants to health care providers in order to induce the providers to purchase specialty pharmaceutical products from AmerisourceBergen.
Physician groups should carefully evaluate any financial relationship with referral sources, particularly arrangements involving per-use or per-test compensation structures, shared space or administrative services, independent contractor or consulting agreements, and free meals and entertainment. Failing to comply with federal fraud and abuse laws can result in criminal convictions, imprisonment, significant fines and penalties, and exclusion from federal healthcare programs.
If you would like more information, please contact Chelsea Gulinson.
[1] See Former New York National Sales Director Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Kickback Scheme, U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts, U.S. Department of Justice (Feb. 27, 2026), https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/former-new-york-national-sales-director-sentenced-three-years-prison-kickback-scheme.
[2] See AmerisourceBergen Subsidiary Agrees to Pay $1 Million for Allegedly Paying Kickbacks to Health Care Providers and Medical Practice Executives, U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts, U.S. Department of Justice (March 6, 2026), https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/amerisourcebergen-subsidiary-agrees-pay-1-million-allegedly-paying-kickbacks-health-care.
