MIAMI, FL – A federal indictment unsealed Friday charges Kenneth Charles Kessler III, 42, of Miami-Dade County, and Michael Andrew Gomez, 42, of Broward County, for their roles in a large-scale Medicare fraud scheme involving the submission of approximately $34.8 million in false claims for medically unnecessary equipment.
According to court documents, the two men operated seven Florida-based durable medical equipment (DME) companies and used deceptive telemarketing to persuade thousands of Medicare beneficiaries to accept items they did not need, including orthotic braces and continuous glucose monitors.
Kessler and Gomez are accused of paying illegal kickbacks to marketing companies that obtained beneficiaries’ personal information and coordinated with telemedicine providers to produce fraudulent doctors’ orders. These orders were then used to submit false claims to Medicare through their DME companies.
Both defendants face charges including conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud, two counts of health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and offer health care kickbacks, and two counts of offering and paying kickbacks. If convicted, each could face up to 65 years in prison.
“The defendants are alleged to have perpetuated a scheme that involved the submission of $34.8 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary medical equipment,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti. “That money, which came from American taxpayers, was intended to benefit Americans in need of medical care.”
Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank and FBI Assistant Director Jose A. Perez also emphasized the widespread harm caused by such fraud schemes.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. Trial Attorneys Aisha Schafer-Hylton and Owen Dunn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The charges are part of ongoing efforts by the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, which has charged over 5,800 defendants since 2007 in connection with more than $30 billion in fraudulent billing.
