LOS ANGELES, March 31, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A lawsuit unsealed in Los Angeles Superior Court against Sterling Pathology Medical Corporation and its owner Dr. Changgao Yang alleges a decade-long scheme of fraudulent billing practices that defrauded state healthcare programs and private insurers of more than $20 million.
The Complaint alleges that “as this country struggled to cope with a devastating pandemic...Sterling Pathology conspired to swindle insurance providers out of millions of dollars. They engaged in illicit COVID-19 test billing schemes using unlawful contracted cappers, runners, and kickbacks to obtain patients’ insurance information, dates of birth, and driver’s licenses. These schemes were designed to extract unearned payments under COVID emergency programs…. By exploiting the healthcare system at its most vulnerable moment, Defendants indirectly raised healthcare costs for everyday Americans”.
The complaint, brought on behalf of the State of California, alleges that Sterling Pathology systematically submitted false claims for tests that were not performed, billed for medically unnecessary procedures, and engaged in improper and “phantom” COVID-19 tests during the pandemic.
According to the lawsuit, Sterling Pathology allegedly targeted certain immigrant communities using “cappers and runners” to recruit patients and in many cases simply obtain names to obtain nearly $20 million of payment under COVID-19 relief programs. “If you witnessed or were pressured to participate in questionable billing or COVID-19 testing practices at Sterling Pathology, your information could make a difference,” said attorney Gloria Juarez, counsel prosecuting the case.
“These alleged healthcare fraud cases are always about accountability”, Juarez added. “Healthcare fraud compromises patient trust, siphons taxpayer dollars, and burdens the healthcare system at a critical time. These predatory labs and the doctors should answer for deliberately diverting critical resources during a global pandemic”.
The case, the State of California v. Sterling Pathology Medical Corporation et al. (Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. 21STCV00923), is currently pending before the Hon. Maureen Duffy-Lewis.
SUMMARY
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge rejected secrecy attempts by Sterling Pathology Medical Group and its owner Chang Yang to shield their financial records
Law Offices of Gloria Juarez
Gloria Juarez, Esq.
Email: gloria@thegjlaw.com
Telephone: 949-288-3402
