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Fraud

Massachusetts Attorney General's Office Secures Guilty Pleas from Clinical Laboratory and Owner for MassHealth Fraud

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The Office of the Attorney General in Massachusetts has announced that Optimum Labs, Inc., a New Bedford-based clinical laboratory, and its owner, William Owens, have pleaded guilty to charges related to two separate MassHealth fraud and kickback schemes. The schemes involved submitting false claims for sober home urine drug tests that were not payable by MassHealth, resulting in over $4.7 million in false claims. As part of the plea, the company will surrender $830,000, and Owens will serve two consecutive sentences of 2.5 years in the Suffolk County House of Correction, suspended for a probationary period of three years.

Key Takeaways:

  • Optimum Labs, Inc., a New Bedford-based clinical laboratory, and its owner, William Owens, pleaded guilty to charges related to two separate MassHealth fraud and kickback schemes.
  • The schemes involved submitting false claims for sober home urine drug tests that were not payable by MassHealth, resulting in over $4.7 million in false claims.
  • The company will surrender $830,000 as part of the plea, and Owens will serve two consecutive sentences of 2.5 years in the Suffolk County House of Correction, suspended for a probationary period of three years.
  • The AGO secured indictments in May 2022 and March 2025 for the schemes, which involved illegal kickback arrangements and medically unnecessary testing.
  • The AGO also charged Optimum Labs for engaging in an illegal kickback scheme with two other laboratories in exchange for a percentage of insurance reimbursements.
  • The AGO has been actively combating MassHealth fraud, including a $2 million settlement with a physician group in December 2024 and indictments against several other MassHealth providers in March 2025.

Statistics:

  • $4,700,000: The amount of money in false claims submitted by Optimum Labs and Owens to MassHealth due to the schemes.
  • $830,000: The amount of money surrendered by Optimum Labs as part of the plea.
  • 2.5 years: The consecutive sentence of incarceration for William Owens.
  • 3 years: The probationary period for William Owens.
  • $5,922,320: The grant award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the Medicaid Fraud Division in federal fiscal year 2025.

Sources:

  • Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, "Optimum Labs and Owner William Owens Plead Guilty to MassHealth Fraud and Kickback Schemes," July 28, 2025.
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) Funding," n.d.

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