In a firm stance against healthcare fraud, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland delivered a financial blow to laboratory companies run by Patrick Britton-Harr, slapping them with a hefty $26 million in judgments under the False Claims Act, according to a Justice Department release. Britton-Harr's failure to defend against allegations of exploiting the COVID-19 crisis through Medicare billing fraud resulted in the court's default ruling issued on July 18th.
Britton-Harr's operation, which included Provista Health, LLC and multiple other entities, was accused of billing for unnecessary respiratory tests and, in some egregious instances, for tests on individuals after their reported death dates, the United States alleged that not only were the tests unnecessary due to a lack of symptoms but also included uncommon respiratory pathogens, with further claims that some of these tests were not even ordered by physicians nor performed.
Escalating legal confrontations peaked when Britton-Harr defied a court order and sold his Annapolis property, leading to a March 4th civil contempt charge and an order to deposit an equivalent sum of the house's sale—$575,000—back into the court's registry, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron, and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton articulated the government's determination in pursuing such fraudulent actions, echoing a mutual emphasis on justice and the protection of federal healthcare programs.
The case against Britton-Harr and his companies was spearheaded by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tarra DeShields and Trial Attorneys Jonathan Hoerner and Vincent Vaccarella, stressing the critical role of public reporting in exposing fraudulent activities—the Department of Health and Human Services encourages anyone with knowledge of possible fraud to report to their hotline at 800‑HHS‑TIPS (800-447-8477).
