Cardiac Imaging Inc. (CII), a mobile cardiac PET scan provider, and its owner/CEO have agreed to pay $85.48 million to settle false claims allegations that they paid kickbacks to referring cardiologists in the form of excessive supervision fees, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said Oct. 10.[1] In separate settlements, CII agreed to pay $75 million “plus additional amounts based on future revenues” and CEO Sam Kancherlapalli will fork over $10 million, DOJ said, adding “these settlements are based on their ability to pay.”
The case was set in motion in 2018 by a whistleblower, Lynda Pinto, who worked as a billing manager for CII. Headquartered in Illinois, CII provides PET scans and cardiovascular stress tests to people covered by Medicare, TRICARE and other federal health care programs.