A former NFL player has been convicted for $197 million worth of Medicare fraud.
The Justice Department shared a press release on Feb. 3 revealing that 47-year-old Joel Rufus French of Amory, Mississippi was charged for a multi-year scheme that scammed the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs out of a massive amount of money, by selling patient information and fake doctor’s orders for orthotic braces that the patients didn’t need or want.
According to the Justice Department, French partnered with overseas call centers to pressure older Americans to give their personal and health insurance information and then agree to accept the braces they didn’t want. In some situations, the call centers changed call recordings to suggest the Medicare patients agreed to the braces when they actually didn’t.
In addition to that, French's long list of crimes include allegedly paying fake telemedicine companies to get signed orders from healthcare officials who never interacted with the patients, then he sold the orders to companies who submitted Medicare claims.
“This defendant’s conduct was egregious: he targeted seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia and billed Medicare for orthotic braces for deceased patients and amputees,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These schemes undermine the integrity of our healthcare system by robbing taxpayer-funded programs meant for legitimate medical care. Today’s verdict sends a clear message: the Criminal Division will aggressively prosecute those who prey on our nation’s seniors and veterans to steal from Medicare.”
French was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to offer, pay, solicit, and receive kickbacks. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud, 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering, and five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the government.
“This scheme built on sham operations exploited seniors and corrupted the federal healthcare system. By falsifying doctors’ orders and selling patient information, the defendant sought to turn Medicare into their own personal ATM machine,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) in a statement. “HHS-OIG will stop and catch anyone who exploits vulnerable patients to bilk federal healthcare programs and hold them accountable to the full extent of the law.”
French formerly played at the Tight End position in the NFL, spending time with both the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks.