Florida: Tech entrepreneur found guilty of multi-million dollar Medicare fraud

A federal jury in the Southern District of Florida convicted Brett Blackman, a 42-year-old businessman and owner of a healthcare-focused software company, for his involvement in a complex fraud ring that used digital platforms, telemedicine and mass marketing campaigns to defraud Medicare and other federal healthcare programs for more than $1 billion.

In the Justice Department's statement they describe the case as one of the largest and most sophisticated healthcare fraud schemes uncovered in Florida, an operation that has reportedly affected hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries, primarily seniors, through the promotion of unnecessary medical equipment and false prescriptions.

Evidence presented during the trial

According to the evidence presented during the trial, Blackman directed and controlled the company HealthSplash, which in 2017 acquired the technology platform Power Mobility Doctor Rx, LLC (DMERx). This digital tool allowed for the generation of physician orders and prescriptions for durable medical equipment and other medical devices.

Investigators contend that the platform became the operational core of the fraud. Through it, medical equipment suppliers, marketing companies and telemedicine companies coordinated the issuance of fraudulent medical orders. Participating physicians, according to the indictment, received illegal payments to sign prescriptions without performing actual patient evaluations.

The investigation revealed that Blackman and his associates implemented aggressive campaigns using foreign call centers and mass mailings to contact hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries. Patients were pressured to accept braces and other devices they did not medically need.

Subsequently, purported telemedicine physicians would validate those requests through prescriptions issued without legitimate consultation and, in some cases, without any interaction with the patient.

An undercover agent in the middle of the fraudulent scheme

Authorities even presented at trial the testimony of an undercover agent posing as a Medicare beneficiary. The operation revealed how a foreign call center insisted on delivering multiple orthopedic devices to the fake patient, while a physician signed orders using the DMERx platform without ever having had any contact with him.

The documentation generated included false claims, including supposed in-person clinical tests that never occurred.

Court records indicate that companies linked to the scheme went on to submit claims for more than $1 billion to Medicare and other federal insurers. Of that amount, the government programs disbursed more than $450 million before detecting the fraud.

Investigators further noted that those responsible allegedly used fictitious contracts and altered medical orders to evade audits and control mechanisms.

"Calculated and large-scale theft"

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called the operation a "calculated, large-scale theft" targeting vulnerable individuals.

"This illegitimate operation stole more than $1 billion from American taxpayers, including hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries," Blanche stated.

For their part, Justice Department officials and federal agencies stressed that the fraud not only represented a monumental economic loss, but compromised resources intended for patients, veterans and military families dependent on federal health programs.

Blackman was found guilty of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks, and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government through false statements related to healthcare matters.

His co-defendant, Gary Cox, had previously been convicted and received a 15-year prison sentence.