Texas Doctor Accused of False Claims Act Violations

U.S. Attorney’s Office – Northern District of Texas, March 22, 2021

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas has filed a False Claims Act lawsuit against a Texas dermatopathologist and his clinic, Cockerell Dermatopathology (CDP), for submitting nearly $4.2 million in fraudulent claims to TRICARE, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah.

According to allegations in a civil complaint filed Monday, Dr. Clay Cockerell, 64, knowingly permitted a laboratory management company to use his clinic’s lab license to submit false claims to federal health insurance programs, including TRICARE, for medically unnecessary tests.

The complaint alleges that in March 2015, Dr. Cockerell signed an agreement that authorized the management company, Progen, to use CDP’s CLIA lab license to submit claims for payment for toxicology and pharmacogenomic tests. In return, Progen agreed to pay CDP twenty percent of the net revenue from those tests.

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