A settlement reached to resolve False Claims Act Allegations against Elite Lab Services LLC, along with its husband-and-wife owners Gerard and Suzanne Dengler.
The allegations arose from a lawsuit claiming Elite Lab Services LLC, along with its owners Gerard and Suzanne Dengler billed Medicare for tens of thousands of miles that were never driven by Elite Lab’s personnel.
According to the Department of Justice, as part of the settlement, the Denglers and Elite Lab admit they submitted false claims to Medicare—claims that contained inflated mileage calculations beyond those actually driven by Elite Lab employees. The settlement also resolves a separate lawsuit in which the United States sought to forfeit funds and property obtained by the Denglers and Elite Lab through their fraudulent conduct.
In July 2014, former Elite Lab employee Karen Malcolm filed a lawsuit under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. Karen Malcolm alleged, among other things, that the defendants inflated mileage claims submitted to Medicare from approximately 2010 through 2014. In 2014, Karen Malcom shared her concerns in regards to the billing practices with the owners, but the fraudulent billing was not corrected, and she then resigned her employment with Elite Lab.
As a result of the settlement, Elite Lab Services LLC will be excluded from participating in Medicare for eight years, Gerard Dengler will be excluded for 10 years, and Suzanne Dengler will be excluded for eight years.
The whistleblowers' share of the settlement will be $787,500.00.
