James Matthew Thorton Potter, also known as “Bo Potter,” has been indicted due to his alleged involvement in a $20 million Medicare scam tied to his Baldwin County operation, Gulf Coast Molecular Laboratories.

The indictment claims Potter conspired with TeleMD owner Brian Cotugno in the sale and distribution of Medicare beneficiary identification numbers (BINs) to receive reimbursements for COVID-19 test kits. Cotugno sold hundreds of thousands of BINs and other personal data to labs around the county, which included two co-owned by Potter in Birmingham and Spanish Fort, according to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.

From February to May last year, after Potter purchased BIN “lead packages” from Cotugno in January 2023, federal files claim Potter used his labs to bill Medicare for more than 230,000 COVID-19 test kits, disguised as orders from beneficiaries. Medicare reimbursed Potter’s labs nearly $20 million through electronic deposits during this span, though neither location provided any test kits to any of the beneficiaries that were billed, as the indictment details Cotugno was paid extra to use a separate distributor.

“Upon conviction of the offense in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371 as set out in Count One of this indictment, the defendant, James Matthew Thorton Potter, shall forfeit to the United States any property real or personal that constitutes or is derived directly or indirectly from gross proceeds traceable to the commission of the offense, or any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as the result of such offense, and any property used or intended to be used in any manner or part to commit or to facilitate the commission of the offense,” the indictment added.

Potter is scheduled to appear in federal court on Thursday, July 18.