An indictment has accused a Missouri man and an Alabama woman of engaging in an illegal kickback scheme involving genetic and COVID-19 tests given to seniors. Willie Ann Cleveland and Timothy C. Peoples were indicted on one count of conspiracy to receive and pay healthcare kickbacks. Peoples, 56, of Bridgeton, Missouri, appeared in court August 15 and pleaded not guilty. Cleveland, 41, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was arrested August 14 and pleaded not guilty the same day. According to the indictment, from 2017 through Aug. 7, 2024, Peoples collected biological specimens for genetic and COVID-19 testing, primarily from Medicare patients at senior citizen centers in eastern Missouri. Cleveland introduced Peoples to laboratory personnel so that they could set up the kickback scheme. Peoples and Cleveland created sham contracts to conceal the kickbacks as a “monthly flat marketing fee.” Cleveland received $9,000 from a laboratory on March 1, 2022, and wired $7,000 to Peoples three days later, according to one allegation in the indictment. The indictment also says Cleveland and Peoples offered to pay a physician a $100 kickback in exchange for each lab test ordered. Finally, the indictment accuses both Cleveland and Peoples of lying to federal agents who were investigating.
