Bergen Doctor Fired Employee For Not Altering Charts: Lawsuit

OAKLAND, NJ — Two former employees have filed a lawsuit against a Bergen County doctor, accusing him of firing them because they did not want to participate in illegal activity.

Christine McNeil and Dr. Louis Perdomo filed the lawsuit against North Jersey Family Medicine LLC, and its owner, Dr. Robert Dela Gente in February.

McNeil and Perdomo allege in their complaint that Dela Gente overbilled insurance and tried to cover it up. They also allege they were harassed and subsequently fired for allegedly not going along with Dela Gente's plan.

According to the lawsuit, Dela Gente treated patients by performing services that were "not medically necessary" but presented "financial opportunities." These services included having patients provide urine samples for unrelated medical issues and to undergo drug screenings.

Dela Gente allegedly approached McNeil, of Hasbrouck Heights, to "cover-up illicit activity" by re-creating patients charts, but McNeil refused, according to the lawsuit.

Dela Gente allegedly told McNeil that "she should do what he asks of her if she enjoys being employed." He also used vulgar language and belittled McNeil for not participating, according to the complaint.

Dela Gente also allegedly prescribed an excessive amount of pain creams that were "not medically necessary" in a profit-making scheme, McNeil alleges in the complaint.

Perdomo, of Passaic, worked for Dela Gente from 2015 until April 2017 as the practice's billing coordinator.

Perdomo was a partner with Dela Gente and leased the property the practice was located on, according to the complaint. He took out a $200,000 line of credit to pay for start up costs.

Perdomo said in the lawsuit that Dela Gente approached him to provide services to patients that were not medically necessary in an attempt to "generate more medical billings."

Perdomo made it clear that he would "never do anything unethical and/or illegal." As a result, he said Dela Gente stripped him of his managerial duties and retaliated against him, the lawsuit states.

Dela Gente reportedly stripped all employees of their health insurance and is withholding money from Perdomo's 401(k) account.

Perdomo and McNeil are seeking a jury trial, compensatory damages, back pay, punitive damages, damages for emotional distress, and attorney's fees.

Dozens of corporations and several "John Does," along with North Jersey Family Medicine and Del Gente are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

McNeil stated that in July 2016 investigators from medical insurer Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield audited North Jersey Family Medicine and requested medical charts of several patients to review. Horizon has also filed a lawsuit against Del Gente, NorthJersey.com reported.

Here is a copy of McNeil and Perdomo's complaint:

Lawsuit Filed By Christine McNeil and Dr. Louis Perdomo Against Dr. Robert Dela Gente Of North Jersey Famil... by Daniel Hubbard on Scribd

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