Information — United States v. Damon Heath Roberts, Northern District of Texas (Document 1)

Summary

A criminal information in United States of America v. Damon Heath Roberts, filed September 19, 2023 as Document 1 in No. 3:23-cr-00381-M in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. Count One charges conspiracy to pay kickbacks for referrals to a Federal health care program under 18 U.S.C. § 371 (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)(2)). The information alleges that beginning in or around February 2023 and continuing to at least in or around May 2023 Roberts, owner of JDS Labs, LLC, paid kickbacks to medical providers and others for Medicare beneficiary information used to bill Medicare for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests. It alleges that JDS Labs submitted nearly $4 million in claims and Medicare paid nearly $1.7 million, and it lists ACH transfers of $1,700, $8,296 and $80,000 as overt acts. The signature block names United States Attorney Leigha Simonton.

Summary drafted by a model from the text of the original file linked on this page and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

Text recognized from a scanned document; may contain errors.

Case 3:23-cr-00381-M Document1 Filed 09/19/23. Page1of9 PagelD1

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT a
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
DALLAS DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DAMON HEATH ROBERTS A=

INFORMATION

The United States Attorney charges:
At all times material to this Information:
Introduction

1. Roberts owned and controlled JDS Labs, LLC (“JDS Labs”), which was
located in the Northern District of Texas. JDS Labs purported to offer “no cost” COVID-
19 home tests that could be shipped to individuals nationwide.

Bs Beginning in or around February 2023 and continuing to at least in or
around May 2023, Roberts used JDS Labs to engage in an unlawful conspiracy whereby
medical providers and other individuals provided Roberts with the information of tens of
thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, so that JDS Labs could bill Medicare for over-the-
counter COVID-19 tests. In exchange, Roberts offered to pay and did pay, and the
medical providers and individuals solicited and received, illegal kickbacks and bribes
based on the amount Medicare reimbursed for the tests.

3. As a result of the illegal kickbacks and bribes, JDS Labs was able to submit
nearly $4 million in claims for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests to Medicare. Medicare

paid nearly $1.7 million based on those claims.

Information—Page 1 of 9
Case 3:23-cr-00381-M Document1 Filed 09/19/23. Page 2of9 PagelD 2

The Medicare Program

4. The Medicare Program (“Medicare”) was a federally funded health
insurance program, affecting commerce, that provided benefits to individuals who were
65 years and older and to certain disabled persons. Medicare was administered by the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”), a federal agency under the United
States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”). Medicare was a “health care
benefit program” as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 24(b) in that it was a public plan or contract
affecting commerce, and a “Federal health care program” as defined by 42 U.S.C. §
1320a-7b(f).

5. Individuals who qualified for Medicare benefits were referred to as
Medicare “beneficiaries.” Medicare beneficiaries were issued beneficiary identification
cards that certified eligibility for Medicare and identified each beneficiary by a unique
number.

6. Medicare included coverage under component parts. Medicare Part A was
a hospital insurance program that covered beneficiaries for, among other types of care,
inpatient care in hospitals and other facilities. Medicare Part B was a medical insurance
program that covered doctors’ services, outpatient care, diagnostic testing, durable
medical equipment, and other medical items and services not covered under Medicare
Part A.

7. Laboratories, pharmacies, physicians, nurse practitioners, and other health
care providers that furnished items and services to Medicare beneficiaries were referred

to as Medicare “providers.” To participate in Medicare, providers were required to

Information—Page 2 of 9
Case 3:23-cr-00381-M Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page3of9 PagelD 3

submit a Medicare enrollment application, which required providers to certify that they
would abide by Medicare laws, regulations, and program instructions, including the
Federal Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b).

8. Medicare paid for claims only if the items or services were medically
necessary for the treatment or diagnosis of the beneficiary’s illness or injury,
documented, and actually provided as represented. Medicare would not pay for items or

services that were procured through kickbacks and bribes.

Over-the-Counter COVID-19 Tests

9. Starting on April 4, 2022, and continuing through the duration of the
COVID-19 public health emergency, Medicare covered and paid for over-the-counter
COVID-19 tests (“OTC COVID-19 tests”) at no cost to beneficiaries with Medicare Part
B and those with Medicare Advantage plans. This program was intended to ensure
Medicare beneficiaries had access to COVID-19 tests they needed to stay safe and
healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible providers were permitted to distribute
to Medicare beneficiaries OTC COVID-19 tests that were approved, authorized, or
cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

10. Medicare would not pay for more than eight OTC COVID-19 tests, per
calendar month, per Medicare beneficiary. Providers could distribute OTC COVID-19
tests only to Medicare beneficiaries who requested them. Providers were required to

keep documentation showing a Medicare beneficiary’s request for the tests.

Information—Page 3 of 9
Case 3:23-cr-00381-M Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page4of9 PagelD 4

Count One
Conspiracy to Pay or Offer to Pay Kickbacks
for Referrals to a Federal Health Care Program
(Violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)(2)))

The United States Attorney realleges and incorporates by reference all preceding
paragraphs of this Information as if fully set herein.

11. Beginning in or around February 2023 and continuing to at least in or
around May 2023, in the Northern District of Texas and elsewhere, the defendant,
Damon Heath Roberts, knowingly and willfully conspired, confederated, and agreed
with others known and unknown to the United States Attorney, to commit offenses
against the United States, that is violations of Title 42, United States Code, Section
1320a-7b(b)(2), by knowingly and willfully offering and paying remuneration, including
kickbacks and bribes, directly and indirectly, overtly and covertly, in cash and in kind, for
the furnishing of items and services, namely OTC COVID-19 tests, for which payment

may be made in whole or in part under a Federal health care program.

Purpose of the Conspiracy

12. It was a purpose and object of the conspiracy for Roberts and other

receipt of bribes and kickbacks in exchange for referrals of items and services, namely
OTC COVID-19 tests, for which payment was made in whole or in part under Medicare, a

Federal health care program, as defined by 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(f).

|

|

|

coconspirators to unlawfully enrich themselves through the payment, solicitation, and
Information—Page 4 of 9
Case 3:23-cr-00381-M Document1 Filed 09/19/23. Page5of9 PagelD5

Manner and Means of the Conspiracy

13. |The manner and means by which the defendant and his conspirators sought
to accomplish the purpose of the conspiracy included, among other things:

14. | Roberts owned and controlled JDS Labs, which was an enrolled Medicare
provider with the ability to provide OTC COVID-19 tests covered by Medicare to
Medicare beneficiaries.

15. | Beginning in or around February 2023, Roberts and his coconspirators,
which included medical providers and other individuals with access to patient
information, began sharing Medicare beneficiary information so that JDS Labs could bill
Medicare for OTC COVID-19 tests. In exchange, Roberts offered and paid, and the
medical providers and other individuals solicited and received, a kickback or bribe based
on the reimbursement from Medicare for OTC COVID-19 tests JDS Labs billed to the
beneficiary’s Medicare insurance.

16. Throughout the conspiracy, Roberts’s coconspirators sent patient
information for Medicare beneficiaries. The information was typically sent directly from
a medical provider’s electronic medical record or was provided on Excel spreadsheets.
Upon receiving the patient information and verifying the patient was, in fact, covered by
Medicare, Roberts submitted or caused a claim for OTC COVID-19 tests to be submitted

to Medicare.

Information—Page 5 of 9
Case 3:23-cr-00381-M Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page6of9 PagelD 6

17. | Once Medicare reimbursed JDS Labs for the claim, Roberts paid a
kickback or bribe to the referring medical provider or individual. Roberts kept track of
the Medicare payouts and corresponding kickback amounts that were due to each
referring medical provider or individual and kept them updated of the same.

18. | Because Roberts and his coconspirators knew that it violated the Federal
Anti-Kickback Statute to pay or offer to pay kickbacks or to solicit or receive the
kickbacks, and that any such payments would be subject to heightened scrutiny, Roberts
and his coconspirators sought to conceal the kickback payments through the use of
passthrough arrangements and payments in cash to conceal the true source and recipient
of the kickbacks and bribes.

Overt Acts in Furtherance of the Conspiracy

19. In furtherance of the conspiracy, and to accomplish its object and purposes,
Roberts and other coconspirators committed and caused to be committed, in the
Northern District of Texas and elsewhere, the following overt acts, among others:

20. On April 3, 2023, Roberts sent an email to a medical provider stating: “We
also got paid on the 50 patients for [a home health agency], so we are making another
payment to you today for $1,700 (50 patients x 34). We already shipped their tests to
them, but we need phone #s for these 50 patients. Please tell them to send the phone #s
asap. And tell them they can send more patients too.”

21. On April 3, 2023, Roberts made an ACH transfer in the amount of $1,700
from Account Number 9855 to a coconspirator’s bank account for payment of a

kickback.

Information—Page 6 of 9
Case 3:23-cr-00381-M Document1 Filed 09/19/23. Page 7of9 PagelD 7

22. OnApril 17, 2023, Roberts sent an email to a medical provider calculating
kickback amounts owed to certain individuals and advised that $8,296, which was the
total amount of kickbacks, would be sent via wire.
23. On April 17, 2023, Roberts made an ACH transfer in the amount of $8,296
from Account Number 9855 to a coconspirator’s bank account for payment of kickbacks.

24. On May 5, 2023, Roberts made an ACH transfer in the amount of $80,000
from Account Number 9855 to a coconspirator’s bank account for payment of kickbacks.

All in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)(2)).

Information—Page 7 of 9
Case 3:23-cr-00381-M Document1 Filed 09/19/23. Page 8of9 PagelD 8

Forfeiture Notice
(18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(7))

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(7), upon conviction of the offense alleged in

Count One, the defendant, Damon Heath Roberts, shall forfeit to the United States, any

property, real or personal, that constitutes or is derived, directly or indirectly, from gross

proceeds traceable to the commission of the offense.

20,

The above-referenced property subject to forfeiture includes, but is not

limited to, a “money judgment” in the amount of U.S. currency constituting the gross

proceeds traceable to the offense.

Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853(p), as incorporated by 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c), if

any of the property described above, as a result of any act or omission of the defendants:

a.

b.

cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;

has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party;
has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court;

has been substantially diminished in value; or

has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without
difficulty,

the United States intends to seek forfeiture of any other property of the defendants up to

the value of the forfeitable property described above.

Information—Page 8 of 9
Case 3:23-cr-00381-M Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page9of9 PagelD 9

Information—Page 9 of 9

LEIGHA SIMONTON
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

RENEE M. HUNTER

Assistant United States Attorney
Texas Bar No. 24072942

1100 Commerce Street, Third Floor
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699
Telephone: 214-659-8600

Email: Renee.Hunter@usdoj.gov


File and source

File

1-information.pdf

Size

4,133,962 bytes

SHA-256

27ad64acc56e50ceb2c24e13b726383bc14daba5c6d5cb30254ff126190ef060

Our copy

1-information.pdf

Original

archive.org