Terri Haines Pleads Guilty in Genetic Testing Bribery Scheme

TRENTON, N.J. – The grimy details of Terri Haines’ criminal activity have come to light as the former medical lab sales representative, 57, from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, admitted her role in a genetic testing kickback and bribery scheme. Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced the plea today.

Haines, who was not a healthcare provider, earned her living by soliciting DNA samples from Medicare patients at health fairs. She then sent these samples to a New Jersey lab for ‘CGx’ cancer screen testing. However, Haines was unauthorized to order these tests without a doctor’s approval, which led her to pay Dr. Lee Besen of Scranton, Pennsylvania, bribes in exchange for using his medical credentials to order the tests for patients she met at fairs.

Despite never attending any of the health fairs or meeting the patients, Besen accepted these kickbacks and cash bribes. The scheme resulted in Medicare paying over $340,000 for CGx genetic tests, a figure that speaks volumes about the scale of Haines’ deceit.

This guilty plea makes Haines the fifth defendant to face charges in this intricate web of bribery and kickback schemes targeting doctors and medical employees in the Scranton area. Besen has already pleaded guilty for his part in the scheme, which included accepting monthly cash kickbacks and bribes for collecting DNA samples from Medicare patients.

The severity of Haines’ crime is underlined by the potential sentence she faces: up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss derived from the offense. Sentencing is set for March 22, 2022.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig acknowledged the hard work of special agents from the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in their investigation that led to these charges. She also expressed gratitude to the FBI Scranton Field Office, FBI Philadelphia Division, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office for their support.

The case is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua L. Haber from the Health Care Fraud Unit and Acting Principal Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal.