On August 7, 2013, PQA filed a 15-count, $5.6 million lawsuit against the owner of a licensed ambulatory surgery center (“ASC”) on behalf of a Fortune 100 insurance company. The suit alleges that the owner of the ASC paid more than $450,000 in kickbacks to an individual who acted as a “patient broker,” and who referred or caused patients to be referred for procedures to at the ASC. The suit alleges that certain of the defendants violated the New Jersey Insurance Fraud Prevention Act, the federal Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) Act and the New Jersey RICO statute by engaging in an unlawful practice structure and paying unlawful kickbacks for the referral of patients.
