By Elijah Nouvelage and Sarah N. Lynch
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. federal agents executed a warrant to search the Clio Laboratories in Lawrenceville, Ga. on Friday, a government official said, as part of a nationwide crackdown into genetic testing fraud against federal health insurance programs.
A Reuters journalist in the early morning witnessed agents from both the FBI and the Health and Human Services inspector general's office pull into the parking lot at Clio and enter the facilities.
Victoria Nemerson, the lab's general counsel, was seen on the premises opening the doors for the agents. She did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Federal investigators believe the fraud has been carried out by labs, doctors and marketers across the United States in a scheme to bilk federal health insurance programs, such as Medicare.
The search comes two days after Reuters published a special report that raised questions about the lab's Medicare billing practices and whether the genetic tests the lab was running on senior citizens are medically necessary.
