A Florida laboratory owner has admitted to participating in a Medicare fraud scheme that resulted in more than $52 million in false claims for genetic tests. Sean Alterman, 38, of Lake Worth, entered his guilty plea on January 15.
According to court records, Alterman owned and operated Live Beyond Medical MGMT, LLC and Dynix Diagnostics LLC. Through these companies, he purchased doctors’ orders for costly genetic testing from patient recruiters. The recruiters conducted telemarketing campaigns targeting Medicare beneficiaries, persuading them to take unnecessary tests.
“Healthcare fraud is not a paperwork crime, it is theft from patients and taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “By buying prescriptions, running deceptive telemarketing campaigns, and billing tens of millions for tests no one needed, this defendant treated Medicare like an ATM. That conduct will be met with aggressive prosecution, forfeiture, and prison time.”
The operation used a method known as “doctor chasing.” Patient recruiters sent physicians misleading faxes requesting prescriptions that falsely appeared to be for their own patients. These requests were generated by call centers that convinced beneficiaries to agree to testing without medical examination or treatment.
Alterman’s laboratories submitted about $52 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare; the agency paid approximately $36 million. Alterman personally profited by around $5.5 million through shell companies he controlled called Shivv LLC and Shank LLC. As part of his plea deal, he agreed to surrender his Lake Worth estate and a 2022 Rolls Royce Ghost bought with proceeds from the scheme.
Alterman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to offer and pay kickbacks. He faces up to 15 years in prison at sentencing on April 16.
The case was announced by Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Chris Caldwell of the FBI; and Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of HHS-OIG.
The FBI and HHS-OIG led the investigation into this matter.
Trial Attorneys Reginald Cuyler Jr. and Aisha Schafer Hylton are prosecuting the case with Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadya Cheatham handling asset forfeiture proceedings.
Since its creation in March 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program has charged over 5,800 defendants across nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts with defrauding government health programs out of more than $30 billion (https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have also increased efforts alongside HHS-OIG to hold providers responsible for their roles in similar schemes.
Further information on related court documents can be found at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 25-cr-80105.
