US marketer sentenced in $11.5m genetic-testing kickback case
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The DOJ said Robert Desselle was sentenced to 57 months in prison after pleading guilty in February 2025 to conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks. He was ordered to pay $4.5 million in restitution and forfeit $2.1 million.
According to court documents, Desselle paid non-medical marketers to recruit Medicare beneficiaries for medically unnecessary genetic tests, bribed a telemedicine company to obtain doctors’ orders, and received kickbacks from laboratories for referrals. The DOJ said the scheme led to $11.5 million in Medicare billings between June 2018 and December 2020, of which Medicare paid $4.5 million.
The case highlights third-party intermediary and referral-fee risks in healthcare, particularly where marketers influence patient decisions and laboratories reward referrals. Effective controls should include due diligence, monitoring and documented review of intermediary compensation and referral arrangements.