The DOJ has added six Texas physicians to a laboratory testing fraud complaint, alleging False Claims Act violations based on a kickback scheme involving Texas-based hospitals and laboratories. The original complaint was filed in connection with a qui tam lawsuit originally filed by STF LLC, whose members are Felice Gersh, M.D. and Chris Riedel. The complaint alleged that small Texas hospitals, including Rockdale Hospital d/b/a Little River Healthcare (LRH), conspired with two laboratories, True Health Diagnostics, LLC (THD) and Boston Heart Diagnostics Corporation (BHD), to pay kickbacks to physicians for laboratory testing referrals to the hospitals. Tests were then performed by THD and BHD and falsely billed to Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE by LRH or other hospitals as hospital outpatient services. According to the amended complaint, the hospitals, through purported management services organizations (MSOs), kicked back a portion of their laboratory profits to the six referring physicians disguised as investment distributions. If any one of the six Texas physicians is found liable for violating the False Claims Act, the U.S. may recover three times the amount of its losses plus applicable penalties..