Attorney General Jeff Jackson Announces $8.8 Million Health Care Fraud Settlement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Contact: [email protected]

RALEIGH - Today, Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced Bethany Medical Center, P.A., a medical group with several locations in North Carolina, and its founder, Lenin Peters, M.D. have paid $8,828,890 to resolve allegations that they violated the North Carolina and Federal False Claims Acts by knowingly billing Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE for medically unnecessary urine drug tests.

This settlement resolves allegations that Bethany Medical Center's founder, Lenin Peters, implemented and enforced the practice at Bethany to order monthly urine drug testing for opioid therapy patients regardless of individual need. The United States and North Carolina further allege that in the period from January 1, 2018, through July 31, 2023, Bethany billed government health care programs for urine drug testing for patients prescribed an opioid to treat chronic pain, disregarding individual patient needs for less frequent testing and failing to use the results of the tests to treat the patients.

"Patients deserve treatment that is tailored to their needs," said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. "When providers ignore those needs and misuse taxpayer dollars, we will take action to hold them accountable."

The settlement resolves allegations brought by a former employee of Bethany under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act.

This settlement was obtained in collaboration with the United States Attorney's Office Western District of North Carolina, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

About the Medicaid Investigations Division (MID)

The Attorney General's MID investigates fraud and abuse by health care companies and providers, as well as patient abuse and neglect in facilities that are funded by Medicaid. Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that helps provide medical care for people with limited income. To date, the MID has recovered more than $1 billion in restitution and penalties for North Carolina.

MID receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $8,535,748 for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2024. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $2,845,248, is funded by the State of North Carolina. To report Medicaid fraud in North Carolina, call the North Carolina Medicaid Investigations Division at 919-881-2320.

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