Seven Charged in $40 Million Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Scheme, Including Mesa Resident

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Colorado, announced today that seven individuals, including Bradley Edson of Mesa, Arizona.Photo byDaniel NorrisonUnsplash

DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced today that seven individuals have been indicted in connection with a $40 million Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme involving fraudulent genetic testing claims.

Among those charged is Bradley Edson, 66, of Mesa, Arizona.

According to the indictment, the defendants, through various corporate entities, including Tesis Labs, LLC, owned and operated genetic testing laboratories such as Claro Scientific Laboratories, Inc., based in Lafayette, Colorado, and 303 Diagnostics LLC, based in Aurora, Colorado.

The defendants are accused of paying kickbacks and bribes to marketing companies in exchange for referrals of elderly patients for unnecessary genetic testing.

These referrals resulted in over $40 million in fraudulent claims being paid by Medicare and Colorado Medicaid to the laboratories.

The defendants allegedly conspired to defraud government healthcare programs by offering bribes to marketers who targeted Medicare beneficiaries through call centers.

These marketers solicited patients to undergo genetic testing, often without medical necessity, and obtained doctors’ signatures on testing order forms.

The indictment further alleges that the fraudulent scheme included bribes and kickbacks in connection with Medicare, Colorado Medicaid, and private health insurance plans.

The individuals charged include Ronald King, 51, of Bangor, Maine, Victor Roiter, 55, of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, Tina Wellman, 51, of Mayfield, New York, Adam Shorr, 55, of Dunedin, Florida, Robert O’Sullivan, 55, of Lake Sherwood, California, Edson, and John Gautereaux, 59, of Temecula, California.

Edson, King, Wellman, Shorr, O’Sullivan, and Gautereaux made initial appearances in Denver between August 26 and September 5, 2024, before Magistrate Judge Susan Prose.

The charges are part of ongoing efforts to combat healthcare fraud, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.