Former PainMD clinics settle fraud allegations

Federal prosecutors have settled fraud claims with Franklin-based Rinova, The Wellness Group — the company former PainMD owner Michael Kestner sold his clinics to days after being charged with health care fraud  — for more than $480,000.

In April 2019, prosecutors accused Kestner of circumventing a payment suspension instituted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services after being charged with fraudulent billing practices using injection treatments after he quietly sold a chain of his clinics to company insiders who rebranded the facilities and regained CMS coverage.