A doctor from Monmouth County faces up to five years in federal prison after pleading

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guilty for his role in a massive patient referral for money scheme. Eugene DeSimone of Eatontown, who practiced in Secaucus, along with Douglas Bienstock of Wayne, who practiced in Hawthorne, confessed to accepting bribes from Parsippany-based Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS).

According to the New Jersey U.S. Attorney press release, "DeSimone admitted accepting $1,500 in cash per month from August 2010 and March 2013 in return for referring patient blood specimens to BLS. Bienstock was paid more than $2,500 per month under a sham service contract. BLS also paid Bienstock $100 in cash for each of a certain type of blood test that he ordered. The two doctors acknowledged generating a total of at least $1.6 million in lab business for BLS from their respective practices."

As part of their guilty pleas, DeSimone and Bienstock agreed to forfeit a combined total of $339,000. They also face $250,000 each in fines following their pleas. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for December 16, 2014.

31 people, including 20 doctors have now pleaded guilty in the elaborate scheme.

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