NEWARK — Four medical providers will pay $3.8 million for allegedly trying to charge patients at a Newark clinic for COVID-19 testing and vaccination services they had advertised as free, prosecutors said.
Trovato Medical Group Inc., America Expert Doctors Inc., Saloojas Inc. and Parmjit M. Singh provided the services to tens of thousands of patients between 2020 and 2023, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
“Despite advertising these services as ‘free,’ defendants allegedly attempted to bill patients up to $1,000 per test or vaccination, in violation of California’s statutory ban on charging patients for COVID-19 testing and vaccination,” prosecutors said.
In addition to the $3.8 million judgment, prosecutors secured an injunction that permanently bars the providers from “engaging in false or misleading advertising or unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business practices,” according to the district attorney’s office.
“During a public health crisis, residents should not be misled or pressured into paying for services that were represented as free,” District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said. “This judgment holds the defendants accountable and protects consumers from unlawful billing practices.”
East Bay medical providers to pay $3.8M for unlawful billing practices
