A former NFL tight end has been found guilty by a federal jury in Florida for his role in a health care fraud scheme that prosecutors said siphoned nearly $200 million from Medicare and a federal program serving disabled veterans’ families through fraudulent orthotic brace orders.
The jury returned guilty verdicts against Joel Rufus French on three counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to court records in the Middle District of Florida.
The U.S. Department of Justice said trial evidence showed French and others arranged for Medicare to be billed for braces that patients did not need, did not request, or, in some instances, were issued in the names of deceased beneficiaries.
French “targeted seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia and billed Medicare for orthotic braces for deceased patients and amputees,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said in a statement.
“These schemes undermine the integrity of our health care system by robbing taxpayer-funded programs meant for legitimate medical care,” Duva added.
Prosecutors alleged that French worked with overseas call centers that contacted elderly Americans and collected their personal and insurance information, pressing them to accept braces they did not need. They said he paid telemedicine companies to obtain prescriptions from medical professionals who never examined or spoke with patients, then sold those orders to suppliers that submitted reimbursement claims.
The government said French controlled eight medical equipment companies used to bill Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which covers certain spouses and children of disabled or deceased veterans. Investigators alleged he concealed his ties to the businesses using false paperwork.
Evidence also showed French withdrew large amounts of cash during the conspiracy, including roughly $225,000, some of which prosecutors said was used to pay people who supplied beneficiary information.
French faces up to 20 years in prison on the health care and wire fraud conspiracy count, up to 10 years on the money laundering conspiracy, and up to five years on the conspiracy to defraud the United States. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
The case is USA v. Joel Rufus French, No. 8:24-cr-00156, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
