Hospice provider to pay $200K to settle kickback allegations

DETROIT (AP) — The government says a company that provides hospice care has agreed to pay $200,000 to settle allegations that it contributed to a cancer doctor’s foundation in exchange for patient referrals.

The doctor is Farid Fata, who is serving a 45-year prison sentence for putting hundreds of patients through needless cancer treatments in southeastern Michigan.

The U.S. attorney in Detroit says an employee at Vitas reported that the company contributed about $16,000 to Fata’s foundation and got 23 patient referrals over a two-year period.

The employee will get $36,000 out of the $200,000 settlement.