Brian Meshkin needs to be locked up. He perpetuated vicious white collar crime while trying to act as though a martyr of genetic testing. Lock him up to set an example for future would-be future lab scam folks. Good labs are still here, maybe they'll have a fighting chance once the hacks are outed and/or see that they can go to prison for breaking the law.
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Proove Bioscience
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I agree, but I think what also needs to be brought to light is the wake of employees with unpaid wages, no benefits and tainted resumes. Real suffering has occurred and no one is talking about it.
September 01, 2017
By Pat Anson, Editor
A controversial genetic testing firm under federal investigation for healthcare fraud has been placed into court-ordered receivership – a form of bankruptcy – that could lead to the restructuring and sale of the company. The CEO and founder of Proove Biosciences has also left the company.
In an interview with STAT, former CEO Brian Meshkin blamed the company's financial problems on “erroneous and damaging” reports that were based on “false allegations” by disgruntled former employees.
Proove Biosciences specializes in DNA testing that the company claims can improve the effectiveness of pain management treatment and determine whether a patient is at risk of opioid addiction.
In June, FBI agents raided the company’s headquarters in Irvine, California. Former and current employees who were interviewed by STAT said the agents were focused on possible kickbacks to doctors who encouraged patients to take Proove’s DNA tests. Physicians reportedly could make $144,000 a year in kickbacks that were called “research fees.”
In July, PNN reported that Proove was linked to a Medicare fraud case, in which three Indiana healthcare providers allegedly “caused Proove Bioscience… to falsely and fraudulently bill various health care programs for genetic tests... that were not medically necessary and never interpreted."
Proove was not named as a defendant in the Indiana case. In an email to PNN, Meshkin said Proove had cooperated with investigators.
“Proove has cooperated with both the FBI and US Attorney’s office on this case," said Meshkin. "With regards to tests being 'medically necessary', Proove received written and signed determinations of medical necessity supporting the tests ordered and billed to insurance carriers just like every other laboratory which requires such a determination on a test requisition form. Thus Proove operated appropriately and consistent with usual and customary practices."
Meshkin also defended Proove research, published in the Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy, which claimed to show the effectiveness of its genetic tests.The publisher of the journal, OMICS International, has been accused by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of deceiving researchers and readers about the true nature of its publications and peer review process.
"Proove can only speak to its experience with this particular journal,” Meshkin said in an email to PNN. "Specifically for papers submitted to this journal, our R&D team and academic collaborators engaged in documented, extensive peer-review, received suggested edits and provided responses to the suggested edits to the manuscripts submitted for review and publication. Thus, Proove would certainly consider the publications accepted from Proove-affiliated authors in that journal to be 'peer-reviewed'."
According to the FTC complaint filed last August, OMICS has created hundreds of "open access" online medical journals that publish articles with little or no peer review. Researchers are also charged significant fees to get their articles published by OMICS, a "pay to play" policy that some consider unethical because it diminishes the quality of academic journals and the peer review process.
Proove has aggressively promoted its genetic tests with healthcare providers around the country. A pain clinic in Montana, for example, had a Proove “patient engagement representative” employed on site at the Benefis Pain Management Center in Great Falls.
“We had a meeting one day and here are these people from Proove Biosciences. They told us they were doing a research project,” said Rodney Lutes, a physician assistant who was later fired by Benefis. “They wanted to come to Benefis, into the pain department, and test our patients. We were told this would be at no cost to the patient. My understanding was that they weren’t going to charge anybody, but I found out afterwards they were charging insurance companies.
“They said providers who participated in this would get some form of payment for participating in the program and for filling out all the paperwork.”
Lutes’ supervising physician at the clinic was Katrina Lewis, MD, a pain management specialist at Benefis who is listed as a member of Proove’s Medical Advisory Board. Lewis apparently plays a significant role at the clinic, even though she only works there part time. Benefis has denied that Lewis or any of its employees received kickbacks from Proove for referring business to them.
STAT reported that Proove’s restructuring was apparently ordered by Mike Leavitt, a Proove board member, who also served as Utah governor and secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Leavitt’s investment firm, Leavitt Equity Partners, provided about $7 million in funding to Proove, according to Meshkin.
A former Proove manager told STAT that she initially felt good about going to work for the company, but soon had misgivings about Proove's research and billing practices.
“It sucked the life out of me, on an integrity level,” said Rhonda Frantz-Smith. “It got more and more corrupt.”
By Pat Anson, Editor
A controversial genetic testing firm under federal investigation for healthcare fraud has been placed into court-ordered receivership – a form of bankruptcy – that could lead to the restructuring and sale of the company. The CEO and founder of Proove Biosciences has also left the company.
In an interview with STAT, former CEO Brian Meshkin blamed the company's financial problems on “erroneous and damaging” reports that were based on “false allegations” by disgruntled former employees.
Proove Biosciences specializes in DNA testing that the company claims can improve the effectiveness of pain management treatment and determine whether a patient is at risk of opioid addiction.
In June, FBI agents raided the company’s headquarters in Irvine, California. Former and current employees who were interviewed by STAT said the agents were focused on possible kickbacks to doctors who encouraged patients to take Proove’s DNA tests. Physicians reportedly could make $144,000 a year in kickbacks that were called “research fees.”
In July, PNN reported that Proove was linked to a Medicare fraud case, in which three Indiana healthcare providers allegedly “caused Proove Bioscience… to falsely and fraudulently bill various health care programs for genetic tests... that were not medically necessary and never interpreted."
Proove was not named as a defendant in the Indiana case. In an email to PNN, Meshkin said Proove had cooperated with investigators.
“Proove has cooperated with both the FBI and US Attorney’s office on this case," said Meshkin. "With regards to tests being 'medically necessary', Proove received written and signed determinations of medical necessity supporting the tests ordered and billed to insurance carriers just like every other laboratory which requires such a determination on a test requisition form. Thus Proove operated appropriately and consistent with usual and customary practices."
Meshkin also defended Proove research, published in the Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy, which claimed to show the effectiveness of its genetic tests.The publisher of the journal, OMICS International, has been accused by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of deceiving researchers and readers about the true nature of its publications and peer review process.
"Proove can only speak to its experience with this particular journal,” Meshkin said in an email to PNN. "Specifically for papers submitted to this journal, our R&D team and academic collaborators engaged in documented, extensive peer-review, received suggested edits and provided responses to the suggested edits to the manuscripts submitted for review and publication. Thus, Proove would certainly consider the publications accepted from Proove-affiliated authors in that journal to be 'peer-reviewed'."
According to the FTC complaint filed last August, OMICS has created hundreds of "open access" online medical journals that publish articles with little or no peer review. Researchers are also charged significant fees to get their articles published by OMICS, a "pay to play" policy that some consider unethical because it diminishes the quality of academic journals and the peer review process.
Proove has aggressively promoted its genetic tests with healthcare providers around the country. A pain clinic in Montana, for example, had a Proove “patient engagement representative” employed on site at the Benefis Pain Management Center in Great Falls.
“We had a meeting one day and here are these people from Proove Biosciences. They told us they were doing a research project,” said Rodney Lutes, a physician assistant who was later fired by Benefis. “They wanted to come to Benefis, into the pain department, and test our patients. We were told this would be at no cost to the patient. My understanding was that they weren’t going to charge anybody, but I found out afterwards they were charging insurance companies.
“They said providers who participated in this would get some form of payment for participating in the program and for filling out all the paperwork.”
Lutes’ supervising physician at the clinic was Katrina Lewis, MD, a pain management specialist at Benefis who is listed as a member of Proove’s Medical Advisory Board. Lewis apparently plays a significant role at the clinic, even though she only works there part time. Benefis has denied that Lewis or any of its employees received kickbacks from Proove for referring business to them.
STAT reported that Proove’s restructuring was apparently ordered by Mike Leavitt, a Proove board member, who also served as Utah governor and secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Leavitt’s investment firm, Leavitt Equity Partners, provided about $7 million in funding to Proove, according to Meshkin.
A former Proove manager told STAT that she initially felt good about going to work for the company, but soon had misgivings about Proove's research and billing practices.
“It sucked the life out of me, on an integrity level,” said Rhonda Frantz-Smith. “It got more and more corrupt.”
If there was such an integrity challenge, why didn't Rhonda quit or inform the authorities? After speaking with others down here, it seems she was a company gal... but not like Joe, Brian or Wes up in KY
Right about Rhonda; it seems to have taken her two years to see the corruption? Well okay.
FYI: Brian seems to be a cry baby these days.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/stepping-back-move-forward-brian-meshkin
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/stepping-back-move-forward-brian-meshkin
Maybe Rhonda did notify the authorities, Who really knows. I do know this about her, she cared about her employees and maybe that's why she stuck around
Really? You mean like one of her long time friends who she through under the bus and ultimately was responsible for her termination???
This self righteous sociopath continues to blame "bad employees" while he was the one that was orchestrating all the unethical behavior. It really will be justice served, if Brian gets jail time.
"if I had to narrow it down to one pearl of wisdom to share, it would be the following: “Don’t keep employees around that should be fired.” I did this too many times, and every time, it resulted in “terrible lows”. Like most people, I love to help and helping others became one of the great missions of Proove."
"if I had to narrow it down to one pearl of wisdom to share, it would be the following: “Don’t keep employees around that should be fired.” I did this too many times, and every time, it resulted in “terrible lows”. Like most people, I love to help and helping others became one of the great missions of Proove."
Proove employees are bottom of the barrel, third rate drones. Good for Brian taking those stashed $Millions and getting out of Dodge and leaving you pricks hanging on the edge of poverty.
Brian Meshkin never does anything wrong. He is always the good guy who helped everyone. How nice! This article shows Meshkin lives in a different world. Eric Fung who fled after only three months and complained about what he witnessed destroys all the argument Meshkin makes in this article about being the good guy, stabbed in the back by disgruntled employees. The FBI does not raid a business or open an investigation based on baseless or unfounded allegations. They have better things to do. They only poke their nose when or where there is evidence of wrongdoing.
In my opinion, there are several important lessons Meshkin should learn from Proove;
1. Don't launch products that are not ready. Make sure to have at least one peer reviewed article on a product before putting it on the market. This will ensure that nobody can challenge the quality or scientific strength behind the product.
2. Don't create too many enemies and never estimate people's ability to bring you down. Meshkin duped so many people, took advantage of them because he thought he was invincilbe. Nobody has a monopoly on fucking people up. If you treat people badly, no matter are weak or small they might seem, they have the ability to hurt you and the greater their numbers, the more dangerous they become
3. Do not go into a business for which you have no background. Meshkin has a political degree and hardly understands how stuctured healthcare is. He made many mistakes that could have been avoided if he was a healthcare professional or hired a CEO with the right healthcare qualifications.
4. Greed is bad and destroys even the most beautiful plan or system.
Mr. Meshkin, learn from Proove and your mistakes. A true man never blames anyone for their fall or failure but themselves. Take responsibility at least once. You owe it to your family, former employees and all those who trusted you.
Let's all wish Brian success in his new endeavor, and be thankful for all the good times and financial gains he provided to us. Now, it's our turn to follow his lead and secure employment.
Financial gains? What about unpaid wages and PTO?
Is his new company hiring ? I'd be interested in a position.
Wow..... Amen to this post. Read this thread well Brian and learn from your mistakes. I really wonder posted it but this person is absolutely correct, about everything. Never ever make enemies at work I have learned. You never know who could cost you your job one day. You terminated the wrong people and look what happened Brian. Proove was very susceptible and vulnerable It's like installing a Trojan horse
The truth is we all knew the funny business that was going on in this company and you made things much worse by laying people off. Only to make your situation worst. Made a lot of people angry Brian. And then finally everyone turned against you. You really screwed up. And yes, you don't even have a background in this LOL this is so hilarious seriously. it's like a mechanic operating on a person. Would you like a mechanic to operate on you Brian? No. Steve has no clue either. When I was hired I was like really? Is this an actual lab? Proove Biosciences? Research company? What a joke this company was. I only work there to have a job. It was relaxing but full of drama and controversy. I knew all a long this was fraud. Everything. And the tests, seriously Brian, were very stupid. Go work at a real research Lab first and see the difference.