ABINGDON, Va. (WJHL) – The former owner of a Johnson City drug screening lab faces 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud in two states on Wednesday.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Michael Norman Dube, 59, who operated American Toxicology Labs in Johnson City, and his wife Regan Gran Dube, 40, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Abingdon.
Michael Dube pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud in Virginia and Kentucky, while Regan Dube pleaded guilty to one count in Virginia. They each face 10 years of imprisonment. Michael Dube is scheduled to be sentenced on September 15, and his wife’s sentencing is scheduled for September 17.
According to a press release from the U.S. Justice Department, Michael Dube pleaded guilty in 2011 to intentionally omitting information from reports that are required under the Controlled Substances Act.
Because of his conviction, Dube was excluded from participating in any federal healthcare program.
Two years after his conviction, Dube and his wife opened American Toxicology Labs in Johnson City to conduct urine screenings for opioid treatment facilities.
Between May 1 2014 and January 31, Virginia Medicaid, Kentucky Medicaid and TennCare made about $8.5 million in payments to Dube’s facility. The release also says that Dube received kickback payments from third parties for referring people to those parties for services. Those payments, according to the release, were made in whole or in part by federal health care programs.
The release said that $441,646 in those payments were made to the Dubes’ personal checking account.
“The Dubes preyed upon a healthcare system that is supposed to help those in need,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar said in a statement. “This is particularly egregious, given Michael Dube’s prior exclusion from federal health care programs.
The Dubes will have to repay all the money they received from Medicare and Medicaid programs, according to the release, totaling more than $9 million.
