Former NFL Player Sentenced to Over 16 Years in Prison for $197M Medicare Fraud Scheme

A former NFL player who owned a marketing company and was the beneficial owner of eight durable medical equipment companies was sentenced to 196 months in federal prison for orchestrating a years-long scheme to defraud Medicare and CHAMPVA of nearly $200 million. Joel Rufus French, 47, of Armory, Mississippi, was also ordered to pay $110,753,619 in restitution and to forfeit approximately $17 million seized from bank accounts and other assets.

According to court documents and trial evidence, French worked with overseas telemarketing call centers that pressured elderly Americans to provide their personal and health insurance information and agree to accept medically unnecessary orthotic braces. In some cases, the call centers altered recordings to make it seem like patients had agreed to the braces when they had not. French paid sham telemedicine companies kickbacks to obtain signed doctors’ orders from practitioners who never examined—and often never even spoke to—the patients.

He then sold those orders to marketers and medical supply companies, which submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare. French also used straw owners and false documents to hide his ownership of eight DME companies through which he billed the programs for unnecessary braces. Additionally, he laundered approximately $225,000 in cash, including over $10,000 driven in a bag to Orlando to pay accomplices who sold him beneficiaries’ personal and insurance information.

After a six-day jury trial, French was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to offer, pay, solicit, and receive kickbacks. This case reflects the government’s aggressive pursuit of healthcare fraud, particularly schemes that exploit seniors and veterans through illegal kickbacks and fraudulent telemedicine arrangements. The investigation was conducted by HHS-OIG, the FBI, and VA OIG. Individuals with knowledge of similar Medicare fraud or illegal kickback arrangements are encouraged to consult experienced whistleblower attorneys to explore potential False Claims Act remedies.