Raleigh man pleads guilty to receiving more than $60 million in fraudulent claims
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Raleigh man has pleaded guilty to paying illegal kickbacks for patient referrals to a California laboratory involved in a massive healthcare fraud scheme and to filing a false federal tax return, federal prosecutors announced.
James Shuford Price III, 59, entered his guilty plea in federal court and now faces up to 13 years in prison, a $500,000 fine and three years of supervised release. He also will be required to pay restitution to Medicare, California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, the Internal Revenue Service and other victims.
According to court documents, Price owned and operated Golden Star Labs, a laboratory in Los Angeles. Between August 2023 and June 2025, the lab submitted more than $96 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal and Medicare for testing related to COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, commonly known as RSV.
Federal investigators said the fraudulent claims were based on bogus test samples and fake authorizations, resulting in more than $60 million in payments from government healthcare programs.
Authorities said Price directed the laboratory to pay “collectors” based on the number of test specimens they provided, a practice prohibited under federal healthcare laws. Between August 2023 and January 2025, Golden Star Labs paid more than $17 million to collectors who supplied large quantities of fraudulent samples, many of which were linked to identity theft.
Investigators found that a significant portion of the lab’s claims relied on stolen personal information from physicians and other healthcare providers. In one instance, approximately 96% of the lab’s Medi-Cal claims during a six-month period were tied to fraudulent test authorizations using the identity of a single out-of-state physician.
Although Price briefly halted testing operations in early 2024 to address billing concerns, prosecutors said the laboratory resumed the same fraudulent practices the following month. From March 2024 through January 2025, roughly 92% of Medi-Cal claims submitted by the lab were based on false authorizations generated using stolen information from multiple clinicians.
Prosecutors also alleged that Price attempted to conceal the kickback scheme by directing the laboratory to sign contracts with collectors that falsely stated compensation was not tied to referral volume. Despite those agreements, investigators said payments continued on a per-specimen basis.
During the investigation, federal agents seized more than $6 million in assets connected to the fraud.
In addition to the healthcare fraud charges, Price admitted filing a false federal income tax return for 2022 by failing to report income from multiple sources, including funds connected to a previous investment scam.
Federal officials said the case highlights ongoing efforts to combat fraud involving taxpayer-funded healthcare programs.
“Stealing taxpayer dollars that should be used to help legitimate beneficiaries is lowdown, dirty pool,” U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle said in a statement. “We have a message to fraudsters who steal federal dollars: we will catch, prosecute and imprison you.”
The investigation was led by 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.
A sentencing date has not yet been announced.
