North Carolina Man Admits Guilt in Major Healthcare Fraud Case

James Shuford Price III, a 59-year-old from North Carolina, has pleaded guilty to participating in a large-scale healthcare fraud scheme involving illegal kickbacks and false tax returns. He faces a potential 13-year prison sentence and hefty fines. The fraudulent activities, linked to his lab in California, resulted in over $96 million in false claims to government healthcare programs. Investigators uncovered a network of identity theft and fraudulent authorizations, leading to significant financial losses for Medicare and Medi-Cal. Price's case highlights the government's commitment to tackling fraud in publicly funded healthcare systems.

By Narendra Chaudhary Jun 25, 2026, 03:15 IST

Healthcare Fraud and Tax Evasion Charges

A man from North Carolina has confessed to engaging in illegal kickbacks for patient referrals to a California lab implicated in a significant healthcare fraud operation, along with submitting a fraudulent federal tax return, according to U.S. prosecutors. James Shuford Price III, aged 59 and residing in Raleigh, entered his plea in a federal court. He could face a maximum of 13 years in prison, a fine reaching $500,000, and three years of supervised release. Additionally, he will be obligated to pay restitution to Medicare, California's Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, the Internal Revenue Service, and other affected parties.

Court documents reveal that Price was the owner of Golden Star Labs, a laboratory located in Los Angeles. Prosecutors allege that from August 2023 to June 2025, the lab submitted over $96 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal and Medicare for tests related to Covid-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Federal investigators claim these submissions were based on fake test samples and false authorizations, leading to over $60 million in payouts from government healthcare programs.

Authorities indicated that Price instructed the lab to pay 'collectors' based on the number of test specimens they provided, a practice that violates federal healthcare regulations. Between August 2023 and January 2025, Golden Star Labs reportedly paid over $17 million to collectors who supplied large amounts of fraudulent samples, many of which were connected to identity theft.

Prosecutors noted that a significant portion of the lab's claims relied on stolen personal data from physicians and other healthcare providers. For instance, during a six-month timeframe, around 96% of the lab's Medi-Cal claims were associated with fraudulent test authorizations using the identity of a physician located outside California.

Although Price temporarily halted testing operations in early 2024 due to billing concerns, he allegedly resumed the same practices shortly after. From March 2024 to January 2025, approximately 92% of the Medi-Cal claims submitted by the lab were reportedly based on false authorizations created using stolen information from various clinicians.

Investigators also alleged that Price tried to hide the kickback scheme by having the lab sign contracts that claimed compensation was not linked to referral volume. However, prosecutors stated that payments continued to be made based on the number of specimens collected. During the investigation, federal agents seized over $6 million in assets related to the fraudulent activities.

In addition to the healthcare fraud charges, Price acknowledged filing a false federal income tax return for 2022, failing to report income from various sources, including funds tied to a prior investment fraud scheme. U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle emphasized the government's dedication to combating fraud in publicly funded healthcare programs, stating, 'Stealing taxpayer dollars that should be used to help legitimate beneficiaries is lowdown, dirty pool.' He added, 'We have a message to fraudsters who steal federal dollars: we will catch, prosecute, and imprison you.' The investigation involved the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the California Department of Health Care Services.