NEWARK, N.J. – A doctor with a medical practice in Randolph, New Jersey has been sentenced to 24 months in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for test referrals as part of a long-running scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), of Parsippany, New Jersey, its president and numerous associates.

Gary Safier, 73, of Randolph, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to an information charging him with one count of accepting bribes and one count of filing a false tax return. Judge Chesler imposed the sentence in Newark federal court.

Including Safier, 39 people – 27 of them physicians – have pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies. It is believed to be the largest number of medical professionals ever prosecuted in a bribery case. The investigation has to date recovered more than $12 million through forfeiture. A 28th physician – Bernard Greenspan – was indicted in March. His trial is scheduled for September 2016.

According to documents filed in this and related cases and statements made in court:

Safier admitted that from August 2007 through March 2013, he accepted bribes in return for referring patient blood specimens to BLS. Initially, the bribes were paid under the guise of bogus lease and service agreements between BLS and his medical office. Later, BLS paid Safier in monthly cash payments that, at times, exceeded $10,000 per month. According to the information, the total amount of bribes paid by BLS to Safier from the sham agreements and cash payments exceeded $353,000.

Safier also admitted that on his federal tax returns for 2010 and 2011, he failed to report $90,000 in bribes he received from BLS.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Safier to two years of supervised release. He must also forfeit $353,152.84.   back...