Texas Man Sentenced to 12 Years for $61 Million Medicare Telemarketing Fraud
Miami, Fla.— A Texas fugitive who ran a nationwide telemarketing scheme that defrauded Medicare of more than $61 million has been sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison, the Justice Department announced Friday.
Robert “Bobby” Leon Smith III, 50, of Archer City, Texas, was ordered to serve 150 months in prison and two years of supervised release for leading a multimillion-dollar conspiracy that targeted thousands of Medicare beneficiaries with deceptive telemarketing campaigns. He must also pay more than $30 million in restitution and forfeit $9.2 million and real estate holdings in Texas.
According to court filings and trial evidence, Smith owned and operated seven durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies across Texas, Florida, and Maryland. Through these companies, prosecutors said, he submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare for orthotic braces, foot baths, and genetic tests that patients neither needed nor requested.
To recruit patients, Smith and his associates used a Texas marketing firm and an offshore call center in the Philippines to run high-pressure sales campaigns. Recordings played in court captured Smith and others coercing beneficiaries to accept medical products even after they declined. He also paid kickbacks to telemedicine companies for doctors’ orders, which he later sold to other suppliers for use in false Medicare claims.
“He ran a brazen operation that exploited elderly Medicare recipients and bilked taxpayers out of tens of millions of dollars,” said A. Tysen Duva, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Prosecutors said Smith’s pursuit of profit went so far as purchasing fake physician orders when legitimate ones ran dry. In one recorded conversation, he dismissed useless orders as “trash” and “junk.” A former business partner testified that some of the paperwork even included the forged signatures of doctors unaware their names were being used.
Smith pleaded guilty in March 2025 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and one count of health care fraud, but absconded before sentencing. He evaded law enforcement for more than a month before being captured by the U.S. Marshals Service.
“This sentence reflects the Justice Department’s commitment to protecting vital health care programs and holding accountable those who exploit vulnerable patients,” said Scott J. Lampert, Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations at the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).