Pair Accused of Kickback Scheme Involving Lab Testing

ST. LOUIS - An indictment has accused a St. Louis County man and an Alabama woman of engaging in an illegal kickback scheme involving genetic and COVID-19 tests given to seniors.

Willie Ann Cleveland and Timothy C. Peoples were indicted August 7 in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on one count of conspiracy to receive and pay health care kickbacks. Peoples, 56, of Bridgeton, Missouri, appeared in court Friday and pleaded not guilty. Cleveland, 41, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was arrested August 14 and pleaded not guilty the same day.

From 2017 through Aug. 7, 2024, Peoples collected biological specimens for genetic and COVID-19 testing, primarily from Medicare patients at senior citizen centers in eastern Missouri, the indictment says. Cleveland introduced Peoples to laboratory personnel so that they could set up the kickback scheme, the indictment says. It says that Peoples and Cleveland created sham contracts to conceal the kickbacks as a "monthly flat marketing fee."

Cleveland received $9,000 from a laboratory on March 1, 2022, and wired $7,000 to Cleveland three days later, according to one allegation in the indictment.

The indictment also says Cleveland and Peoples offered to pay a physician a $100 kickback in exchange for each lab test ordered.

Finally, the indictment accuses both Cleveland and Peoples of lying to federal agents who were investigating.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The conspiracy charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.