On May 1, 2026, the DOJ announced that Modern Nuclear Inc., a California-based provider of mobile positron emission tomography (“PET”) scans agreed to pay over $8.3 million, plus additional amounts tied to future revenues, to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by paying unlawful kickbacks to referring cardiologists.
MNI allegedly paid cardiologists above-fair-market-value fees to “supervise” PET scans for patients those same cardiologists referred to MNI. Specifically, the government alleged that MNI paid referring cardiologists amounts that substantially exceeded fair market value because the physicians were allegedly compensated for time spent in their own offices treating other patients, for time when they were not on site at all, or for additional services beyond supervision that were never or rarely provided.
One of the most notable aspects of the settlement is that, according to the DOJ, MNI relied on an attorney opinion regarding fair market value, but the government alleged that the opinion was based on “fundamental inaccuracies” and that the consultant ultimately withdrew it.
In addition to the financial component of the settlement (which was based on MNI’s ability to pay), MNI also agreed to a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with HHS-OIG. The CIA will require MNI to “implement a compliance program to identify and address the AKS risks associated with other financial arrangements and retain an Independent Compliance Expert to perform a review of the effectiveness of the compliance program.”
The lawsuit was filed by two whistleblowers under the FCA’s qui tam provisions. They will receive a combined total of 16% of the total settlement.
GWB represents businesses and individuals in connection with government investigations and litigation, including False Claims Act litigation. If you need assistance with such a matter, please contact us.
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