ABINGDON, Va. (WJHL) — The former owner of a Johnson City drug screening lab has been sentenced to 36 months in federal prison.
Michael Dube, 59 of Johnson City, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Abingdon.
Prosecutors say Dube and his wife, Regan Dube, opened American Toxicology Labs in 2013, which conducted urine screens for various organizations that represented themselves to be opioid treatment facilities. The company applied to participate in Medicare and Medicaid.
According to court documents, Michael Dube had previously pleaded guilty in 2011 to one count of intentionally omitting information as required under the Controlled Substances Act. As a result of his conviction, the Department of Health and Human Services informed him that he could no longer participate in any federal health care program, such as Medicare or Medicaid.
Prosecutors say Medicare, Virginia Medicaid, Kentucky Medicaid, and TennCare made around $8.5 million in payments to American Toxicology Labs between May 2014 and January 2020.
According to court documents, Michael Dube also received kickback payments of more than $440,000 from third parties for referring individuals to those third parties. Prosecutors say these payments were made in whole or in part by federal health care programs.
Last June, Michael Dube pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud in Virginia and Kentucky, while Regan Dube pleaded guilty to one count in Virginia. Regan Dube was sentenced to three years of probation, four months of home detention, and 400 hours of community service.
The Dubes will have to pay slightly more than $9 million plus interest in special assessments, fines, restitution, and forfeiture.
