JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A company that operates hundreds of pop-up COVID-19 testing sites across the country, including one in Jacksonville, is facing new legal trouble.
The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office is accusing the Center for COVID Control of deceptive and fraudulent practices.
The center has been the subject of a News4JAX I-TEAM investigation after we learned of concerns from patients.
One of the Center for COVID Control testing sites was located in Downtown Jacksonville and its lease was terminated last week.
According to the Center for COVID Control’s website, it plans to resume operations Saturday. It’s unclear if it will open at a different location in Jacksonville.
The Minnesota lawsuit claims the Center for COVID Control made its staff falsely post-date samples to make them appear to be more recent than they were.
READ: Minnesota lawsuit against Center for COVID Control
It also accuses the company of making Minnesota patients take several tests by telling them the results were inconclusive and charging them for it, as well as telling the federal government several patients did not have insurance even though they did.
The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office is looking at penalties that can reach up to $25,000 per violation against the company.
Some of the accusations against the Center for COVID Control include instances when people never got their test results -- or were given a negative result before they even took a test. Other complaints include the company giving false test dates, times and even listing the wrong kind of tests.
Last week, the Center for COVID Control announced it was temporarily shutting down its operations because it said the omicron variant stressed its staff and overwhelmed its demand.
The Center for COVID Control is based out of Illinois. The state attorney general’s office there is also investigating the company along with an investigation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.