A Raleigh man, James Shuford Price III who is 59, has pleaded guilty in federal court to paying illegal kickback for referrals to his California-based lab and filing a false federal tax return, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Here’s who he is and what we know about him.
Who is James Shuford Price III?
James Shuford Price III owned and operated Golden Star Labs (GSL), a laboratory facility in Los Angeles, California.
Between August 2023 and June 2025, his lab submitted more than $85 million in false claims to Medi-Cal and more than $11 million in false claims to Medicare for multi-panel testing for COVID-19, the flu and RSV.
These fake claims, based on fraudulent test samples, resulted in Medi-Cal and Medicare disbursing more than $60 million to GSL, DOJ said.
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What James Shuford Price III did
As part of the scheme, GSL used people known as “collectors” in California and other places to gather test samples from Medi-Cal and Medicare beneficiaries.
Prosecutors said that under Price’s direction, GSL illegally paid these collectors based on how many samples they provided. Between August 2023 and January 2025, the lab paid more than $17 million to collectors. In return, the collectors supplied GSL with large numbers of fake test samples that had been obtained through fraudulent methods, including identity theft.
During the first 6 months of the scheme, about 96% of GSL’s Medi-Cal claims were linked to fraudulent test authorizations from a single out-of-state physician whose identity had been stolen and misused. In February 2024, Price said he paused GSL’s testing operations for a month to “clean up” billing issues. However, prosecutors said the lab resumed the same fraudulent practices after restarting in March 2024. From late March 2024 to January 2025, around 92% of GSL’s Medi-Cal claims were based on fake test authorizations created using stolen information from five different clinicians.
The DOJ said Price also directed GSL to sign written contracts with collectors that falsely promised fixed payments and prohibited volume-based payments in order to make it appear that the lab was following the law. However, prosecutors said the kickback scheme continued behind the scenes, resulting in millions of dollars in payments. During the investigation, the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office seized more than $6 million in assets connected to the fraud.
Price also pleaded guilty to filing a false federal income tax return for 2022 after failing to report income from several sources, including money received from victims linked to an earlier investment scam, according to the DOJ.
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What happens next
Price faces a statutory maximum of 13 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine and three years of supervised release, DOJ said. He will also be required to pay restitution to Medi-Cal, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the IRS, and others.
US Attorney Ellis Boyle said, “Stealing taxpayer dollars that should be used to help legitimate beneficiaries is lowdown, dirty pool. We have a message to fraudsters who steal federal dollars: we will catch, prosecute, and imprison you. Cheaters. Never. Win.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Reid Davis said, “This guilty plea demonstrates the FBI’s unwavering commitment to protecting federal healthcare programs and the taxpayers who fund them. Orchestrating a $60 million Medicare fraud scheme is a profound violation of public trust.”
