‘Driven entirely by greed.’ KY clinic manager fined $55K over kickbacks tied to drug testing
The manager of an Eastern Kentucky clinic who took kickbacks for referring business to a Lexington laboratory has been sentenced to five months in prison.
Theresa C. Merced, 81, also was ordered to pay a $55,000 fine, the maximum under federal sentencing guidelines.
Merced was office manager at St. John Neumann’s Extended Hours clinic in Breathitt County, where husband Pablo Merced is a doctor.
The clinic provided substance-abuse treatment. Treatment for addiction to drugs such as opioids often requires urine drug tests for patients to make sure they’re not misusing drugs.
Merced admitted she contacted the head of a drug-testing lab in Lexington and solicited kickbacks in return for sending drug-testing business from the Jackson clinic to the lab, which is barred under federal law.
The owner paid her $4,000 in August 2019 and also put several employees at the Breathitt County clinic on his payroll at Merced’s request according to a court document.
“This violation . . . was driven entirely by greed,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul McCaffrey said in a sentencing memorandum.
The lab owner, who was not identified in Merced’s plea agreement, cooperated with federal authorities in the investigation.
Merced lied to investigators when they interviewed her, saying she knew nothing about the $4,000 check, and then asked the lab owner to change his records to describe the kickback as a rent payment.
Merced’s attorney, Darrell A. Herald, requested a sentence of probation for her.
However, Chief U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves sentenced her to serve five months in prison and pay the $55,000 fine. That hearing was Monday.
Merced must report to prison in August.
