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A former NFL tight end was convicted Tuesday in Florida federal court for orchestrating what prosecutors described as a sprawling NFL Player $200M Medicare Fraud Scheme, siphoning nearly $200 million from Medicare and a health care program serving disabled veterans’ families through fraudulent orthotic brace orders.

The verdict against Joel Rufus French, returned in the Middle District of Florida, marks a dramatic fall for the onetime professional athlete, now facing the prospect of decades behind bars.

Jury Finds French Guilty on Three Counts

According to the jury verdict form, French was found guilty of:

• Conspiracy to defraud the United States

• Conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud

• Conspiracy to commit money laundering

The U.S. Department of Justice said trial evidence showed that French and his co-conspirators billed Medicare for orthotic braces that patients neither needed nor requested — including claims tied to deceased beneficiaries.

Targeting the Vulnerable

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said French preyed on some of the nation’s most defenseless citizens.

“French targeted seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia and billed Medicare for orthotic braces for deceased patients and amputees,” 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,” he added.

Prosecutors said the scheme also defrauded the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides coverage to spouses and children of veterans who were permanently and totally disabled due to service-connected injuries or who died as a result of such disabilities.

Inside the Alleged Operation

An indictment filed in June 2024 alleged that French, a resident of Amory, Mississippi, worked with others to target beneficiaries of federal health care programs such as Medicare. The aim: secure doctors’ orders for reusable medical equipment including knee braces, back braces and other orthotic devices.

The DOJ said that over several years, French partnered with overseas call centers that pressured elderly Americans — including those with Alzheimer’s and dementia — to hand over personal and insurance information and agree to receive braces they did not need.

Prosecutors said French paid sham telemedicine companies to obtain brace prescriptions from doctors and nurse practitioners who neither examined nor spoke with patients. Those orders were then sold to marketing and medical supply companies, which submitted reimbursement claims to Medicare.

Web of Companies and Cash

French allegedly used eight medical equipment supply companies he owned and managed to bill Medicare and the veterans’ health program. To conceal his involvement, he relied on false documents to mask his ties to those companies, the DOJ said.

Authorities also pointed to financial transactions during the conspiracy. French withdrew roughly $225,000 in cash from a Mississippi bank, prosecutors said. More than $10,000 of that sum was placed in a bag and transported to Orlando, Florida, to pay accomplices who supplied personal and insurance data.

Defense Vows Appeal

Sean Buckley of the Law Offices of Sean Buckley PLLC, one of French’s attorneys, said the defense was “disappointed in the jury’s verdict” and maintained that French is innocent.

“He trusted the wrong people to promote and operate his health care business,” Buckley said, adding that French intends to appeal.

French is also represented by Dustan Neyland of Greco Neyland PC.

The government’s case was handled by Catherine E. Wagner and William Hochul III of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section.

Potential Decades Behind Bars

French faces up to:

• 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud

• 10 years for conspiracy to commit money laundering

• Five years for conspiracy to defraud the United States

Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

The conviction in the NFL Player $200M Medicare Fraud Scheme case underscores federal authorities’ intensified scrutiny of fraud targeting taxpayer-funded health programs — and serves as a stark reminder that even former professional athletes are not beyond the reach of the law.