The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) announced that Optimum Labs, Inc., a New Bedford based clinical laboratory, and its owner, William Owens (Owens) of New Bedford, have pleaded guilty and admitted to sufficient facts on charges related to two separate MassHealth fraud and kickback schemes. The charges are based on the submission of false claims for sober home urine drug tests that were not payable by MassHealth, including tests that were medically unnecessary, not performed or properly authorized, and/or resulted from illegal kickback arrangements. According to the AGO, the fraudulent schemes resulted in over $4.7 million in false claims to MassHealth. On July 28, 2025, in Suffolk County Superior Court, Optimum Labs pleaded guilty and Owens admitted to sufficient facts for two separate sets of charges brought by the AGO in May 2022 and March 2025 in relation to the schemes, including three counts each of Medicaid False Claims, Larceny over $1,200, and Medicaid Kickbacks for both defendants.
Because Optimum Labs is no longer in business and is unable to pay the $4.7 million that the Court found they owe to the Commonwealth, as part of the plea, the Court ordered the company to surrender $830,000. Owens was ordered to serve two consecutive sentences of 2.5 years in the Suffolk County House of Correction, which will be suspended for a probationary period of three years. While on probation, Owens will be barred from any involvement with MassHealth billing, sober homes, and laboratories, and is ordered to complete 150 hours per year of community service.