Two Florida Men Sentenced to Prison for $34.8M Medicare Brace Fraud Scheme

MIAMI — Two Florida men were sentenced to federal prison Tuesday for orchestrating a $34.8 million health care fraud conspiracy that billed Medicare for thousands of medically unnecessary orthotic braces shipped to beneficiaries who never requested them.

Kenneth Charles Kessler III, 43, of Miami, and Michael Andrew Gomez, 43, of Miramar, each pleaded guilty in May 2026 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Kessler received a 33-month sentence, while Gomez was sentenced to 24 months.

Court documents reveal that Kessler and Gomez owned and operated seven durable medical equipment supply companies based in Florida through which they submitted millions of dollars in false claims to Medicare. The pair paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to obtain fraudulent doctors’ orders, which they then used to ship orthotic braces to Medicare beneficiaries nationwide—including individuals who neither requested nor needed the devices.

To evade Medicare payment suspensions, the defendants allegedly shifted their fraudulent billing between their various DME companies. Kessler personally profited more than $1.4 million from the scheme, while Gomez pocketed over $2.3 million.

“These fraudsters billed Medicare $34.8 million for braces that patients didn’t need and didn’t request — and now they’re paying the price,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “They paid kickbacks for fake doctors’ orders, shuffled billing among several companies to dodge payment suspensions, and pocketed millions that belonged to American taxpayers. Their prison sentences make clear: if you steal from Medicare, you will be caught, you will be prosecuted, and you will be held accountable.”

U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida echoed the warning: “Medicare is not a blank check for fraudsters. These defendants built a $34.8 million scheme around medically unnecessary braces, fraudulent doctors’ orders, and illegal kickbacks, all to enrich themselves at the expense of American taxpayers.

Louisiana Nurse Arrested for Fraudulently Billing Medicaid While Clocked In at Another Job

BATON ROUGE, La. — A Metairie nurse has been arrested for allegedly billing Medicaid for disability services she claimed to provide to her son during the same hours she was working her full-time job as a nurse practitioner, state authorities announced Wednesday.

Elaine Handcock, 53, was arrested August 26 and booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on one count of Medicaid fraud, according to Attorney General Liz Murrill’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

The case emerged from a broader investigation into Mauricio Cordoba, a Direct Service Worker who allegedly claimed to have provided services to his son while the recipient was incarcerated. Cordoba was arrested earlier this week.

During the course of that investigation, agents reviewed additional Medicaid claims and discovered that Handcock—the recipient’s mother—was also listed as a Direct Service Worker. Records confirmed that Handcock was employed by Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and that she claimed to have provided services to her son on dates and at times when she was simultaneously working as an APRN with JeffCare, a JPHSA branch.

The fraudulent claims paid by Medicaid for overlapping dates and times—periods when Handcock could not have physically provided services to her son—totaled $1,282.50.”The investigation revealed that Handcock was claiming reimbursement for services she could not have possibly rendered,” the Attorney General’s office said in a statement.

Handcock was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, though bond information was not immediately available.

‘War Room’ Racketeers Charged with $12M Medicaid Fraud and Violent Home Invasion

NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors have unsealed a nine-count indictment charging four members of a Bronx-based criminal enterprise known as the “War Room” with orchestrating a $12 million Medicaid fraud scheme that exploited vulnerable addiction patients, involved fentanyl kickbacks, and culminated in an armed home invasion robbery against a rival fraud ring.

Louis Trejo, 40, also known as “Machete;” Kenneth Garner, 40, also known as “KG;” Harold Stevenson, also known as “Bazz;” and Erihk Belis, also known as “Eddie,” are charged with racketeering, violence in aid of racketeering, firearms offenses, fraud, narcotics distribution, and money laundering.

According to the indictment, the defendants operated out of an office in Trejo’s residence—which they dubbed the “War Room”—under the guise of a legitimate charity called the “Forward Foundation.” In reality, authorities said, the foundation was a front used to generate fabricated transportation data to support millions of dollars in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursement claims for methadone clinic rides.

The scheme allegedly worked by recruiting Medicaid-eligible patients from Bronx and Manhattan methadone clinics. The defendants paid these patients—individuals meant to be receiving addiction treatment—weekly kickbacks in cash and drugs, including fentanyl and heroin, in exchange for their enrollment information. Members of the War Room then used cellphones equipped with ride-tracking applications and GPS “spoofing” software to log hundreds of fake rides per week, falsifying pickup and drop-off locations to make it appear as if services had been rendered.

This fabricated data was provided to collusive New York-area transportation companies, which then submitted the false claims to Medicaid. From approximately 2023 through 2025, three transportation companies that made direct payments to the War Room collectively submitted over $12 million in “unmatched” claims—bills for transportation services for which no corresponding medical provider claims existed.

When competition for patients at the methadone clinics threatened the War Room’s profits, Trejo and Garner allegedly escalated to violence. On Jan. 12, 2024, they directed members of the organization to commit a home invasion robbery against the leader of a rival Medicaid fraud ring at his residence in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Masked assailants armed with a gun entered the home while others acted as lookouts. According to the indictment, the robbers used zip ties to bind the occupants, pistol-whipped one victim, intentionally cut the rival leader’s hands, and held the victims at gunpoint for multiple hours. The crew fled with approximately $25,000 in cash and assorted items after failing to locate the large stash of cash and drugs they had expected.

Trejo, Garner, and Belis were arrested Wednesday morning and are expected to be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court. Stevenson remains at large.

“Today’s allegations underscore the troubling connection between benefits fraud and violent criminal networks,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “As charged, the defendants are accused of targeting vulnerable patients, defrauding a critical healthcare program, and turning to violence to protect their fraudulent scheme.”

U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York added: “As alleged, members of the War Room perpetrated a massive fraud scheme that preyed upon the addiction of vulnerable Medicaid patients, defrauded a vital federal healthcare program, and caused over $12 million in losses to American taxpayers.”An organizational chart drawn on a whiteboard inside Trejo’s residence allegedly identified the hierarchy of the conspiracy, with Trejo listed as “CEO,” Garner as “COO,” Stevenson as an outreach manager, and Belis as “Vice President.”