Evergreen Reporter

On March 21, 2025, Justin Drew Hanson was sentenced to 21 months in prison for paying healthcare kickbacks, as announced by Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Hanson must also pay over $2.2 million in restitution to Medicaid and Medicare and a $75,000 fine.

Court records revealed that Hanson and his co-defendant, Mohammed Kazim Ali, owned Noah Associates, a clinical laboratory in the Milwaukee area. Starting in 2017, they engaged in a scheme lasting three years where they paid kickbacks to the owner of a substance use treatment clinic for patient referrals. These referrals were for urine drug testing conducted by Noah Associates without physician orders or medical necessity. The fraudulent activities led Medicaid and Medicare to pay over $2.2 million for these unnecessary tests.

United States District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller highlighted the gravity of Hanson's crime at sentencing, noting his manipulation of government programs to gain unearned millions and describing it as theft from U.S. taxpayers. Besides imprisonment, Hanson will be excluded from participating in Medicaid and Medicare programs and has closed Noah Associates. Ali had previously pleaded guilty and received a 15-month sentence.

“Mr. Hanson’s kickbacks resulted in Medicaid and Medicare – and taxpayers – repeatedly paying for unnecessary services,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Frohling.

Special Agent Michael Hensle from the FBI Milwaukee Field Office stated: "The FBI will relentlessly pursue individuals like Mr. Hanson whose actions defrauded the American people."

Mario M. Pinto from HHS-OIG emphasized their commitment to maintaining program integrity: “The kickback scheme in this case undermined the public’s trust in our nation’s health care system.”

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and HHS-OIG with prosecution handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Carter and Julie Stewart.