The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has partially intervened in litigation against the operator of a chain of imaging centers in Southern California that charges the company with filing false Medicare claims.
The DOJ took the action in regard to a whistleblower lawsuit filed against Omega Imaging and its medical director, neuroradiologist Dr. William Kelly. The lawsuit charges that at imaging centers operated by Omega, contrast CT and MRI exams were performed without proper physician supervision. Medicare was then allegedly billed for the procedures.
The case was filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to file suit on behalf of the federal government for false claims, enabling individuals to receive a share of any recovery money. The federal government in these cases is permitted to intervene and take over the lawsuit, which it has done in part in this case, according to a DOJ press statement.
