Kansas City man sentenced to 10 years for genetic testing labs that billed Medicare $174 million
Jamie P. McNamara, 50, of Kansas City, Missouri, operated several clinical laboratories in Louisiana and Texas that billed Medicare for cancer and cardiovascular genetic tests ordered through telemarketers and purported telemedicine doctors who did not treat the patients. Over about a year and a half the labs submitted over $174 million in claims and received over $55 million. McNamara pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, in an announcement the Justice Department published on December 12, 2025. Agents seized several luxury vehicles and over $7 million in bank accounts.
- Year
- 2025
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $55.0 million
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Genetic testing fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-19
The facts, as recorded
- McNamara operated several laboratories in Louisiana and Texas. Telemarketers and call centers ran aggressive campaigns to get Medicare beneficiaries to agree to genetic testing, including cancer and cardiovascular testing.
- Testing orders were signed by purported telemedicine doctors who were not the beneficiaries' treating physicians, did not consult with them and did not follow up after testing.
- McNamara paid kickbacks and bribes, disguised through sham contracts.
- He shifted billing between his labs to evade scrutiny by Medicare and law enforcement.
- He hid his ownership and control by listing family members as owners and company representatives on Medicare and other documents.
- Over about a year and a half the labs submitted over $174 million in claims to Medicare and received over $55 million in reimbursements.
- The government seized several luxury vehicles and over $7 million in bank accounts from McNamara.
- McNamara pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, at a sentencing the release dates to October 23.
- While on pretrial release he fled from an unrelated arrest and cut off his ankle monitor, and was then detained.
- The Justice Department's announcement was published on December 12, 2025, and the case was investigated by HHS Office of Inspector General and the FBI.
Why this case matters
The billing figures are the lesson. A single operator’s labs submitted more than $174 million in claims in about eighteen months, which is the pace at which a genetic-testing operation can grow when the only people in the chain who ever see the patient are telemarketers. The Justice Department’s account also documents the two moves that recur across this scheme: moving billing from one lab to another to stay ahead of scrutiny, and putting relatives’ names on the ownership paperwork.
What the paperwork did not contain
The orders for the tests were signed by doctors described in the release as purported telemedicine doctors who were not the patients’ treating physicians, did not consult with them and did not follow up after testing. The HHS Inspector General’s consumer alert defines genetic testing fraud as billing Medicare for a test that was not medically necessary, was not ordered by the patient’s treating physician, or both, which is the structure described here.
The caveat
McNamara pleaded guilty and has been sentenced, so the conduct above is what the Justice Department’s release says he admitted, not an unresolved accusation. The release does not state a restitution or forfeiture amount, so this page does not give one; the seizures it mentions are described as seized, not forfeited. It dates the sentencing to October 23 without stating the year, and this page reports it as the release does, alongside the December 12, 2025 publication date.
Sources
- Missouri Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for $174M Health Care Fraud Conspiracy. US Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. Accessed 2026-10-19. Supports: Every fact above: McNamara's labs in Louisiana and Texas, the telemarketer and telemedicine ordering chain, the sham-contract kickbacks, billing shifted between labs, family members listed as owners, the $174 million submitted and $55 million received, the seizures, the plea, the 10-year sentence, the pretrial flight, and the December 12, 2025 publication date.
- Fraud Alert: Genetic Testing Scam. US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. Accessed 2026-10-19. Supports: The definition of genetic testing fraud quoted in the case discussion: billing Medicare for a test that was not medically necessary, not ordered by the patient's treating physician, or both.