A federal jury in Florida convicted a former NFL player Tuesday on charges of defrauding Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Justice Department said Joel Rufus French, 47, of Amory, Mississippi, 264 miles west of Atlanta, defrauded the two programs of $197 million through sham doctors’ orders for orthotic braces and by selling patient information.
For example, Medicare got billed for braces for amputated limbs and for beneficiaries who were already dead, prosecutors said.
French, a graduate of the University of Mississippi, was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks in 1999, then spent the 2000 season on injured reserve before being released. The tight end was briefly with the Green Bay Packers in 2002, but never appeared in a regular-season game.
French used overseas call centers to contact elderly Americans, some of whom had dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, and get them to provide their patient information and agree to order braces they did not need.
In some of the cases, the call centers edited audio messages to make it seem like Medicare patients agreed to order braces when they didn’t, the Justice Department said.
French also used fake telehealth and telemedicine companies to secure orders from nurse practitioners and doctors, many of whom never came into contact with patients.
French then sold orders to medical supply companies and various marketers, who in turn submitted the ultimately fraudulent claims to Medicare.
French also used medical equipment companies he owned to bill Medicare and the VA program, federal prosecutors said.
The jury found French guilty on charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to offer, pay, solicit and receive kickbacks.
The Justice Department said French faces up to 20 years in prison for the health care and wire fraud conspiracy, up to 10 years for money laundering conspiracy and up to five years for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. There is not yet a set sentencing date for him.
