Florida healthcare fraud: Nine charged in massive Medicare takedown

TAMPA, Fla. - Federal authorities have cracked down on widespread healthcare fraud networks operating across Florida, charging nine individuals in connection with massive schemes that bilked Medicare and other benefit systems out of millions of dollars.

Florida healthcare fraud

What we know:

Federal prosecutors announced that they charged nine individuals across the Middle District of Florida for their alleged roles in massive healthcare fraud, kickback, and money laundering schemes during a press conference in Tampa on Friday afternoon.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the schemes targeted vulnerable federal programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and VA healthcare systems.

The individual cases in the Middle District of Florida include:

• Wound Care Fraud: Leigh Tesar, Walter Presha, Jr., and Koby Evans were indicted for a $118 million wound care scheme in which Medicare was billed for expensive, unnecessary, or unperformed skin grafts on terminally ill patients. The government has seized $11.8 million in assets.
• COVID-19 Test Scams: Leo Corrigan faces charges for a $7.5 million scheme involving the illegal purchase of Medicare beneficiary numbers to ship unwanted over-the-counter COVID-19 tests. Konstantin Braverman was indicted for a similar $14.4 million scheme that sent unrequested tests to thousands of seniors.
• Diagnostic Testing Civil Settlement: Lawrence Waldman entered a civil settlement to pay $5 million regarding a kickback scheme for medically unnecessary genetic and respiratory testing services. Waldman previously pleaded guilty to related criminal charges and will be sentenced on July 28.
• Equipment Money Laundering: Russian citizen Rustam Abdaev pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy that used a sham recovery company to submit $19 million in fraudulent braces and durable medical equipment claims using stolen patient numbers.
• Telehealth Exploitation: Henry Garcia was indicted on 10 counts for running fraudulent medical equipment companies that used international call centers and sham telehealth signatures to bill Medicare Advantage plans for braces.
• Attorney Client Theft: Marc Vincent Pazienza, a licensed Florida attorney, was indicted for wire fraud after allegedly stealing more than $300,000 from two clients under the guise of safeguarding their money, which had been derived from Medicare fraud.
• VA Patient Steering: Heriberto L. Rivera, the CEO of Family Integrative Medicine of Orlando, LLC, allegedly paid $175,172 in kickbacks to Laurent Cassagnol, an employee at the Department of Veterans Affairs, to steer military veterans to his clinic, resulting in $14 million in false claims.

What they're saying:

"They betray the people they are supposedly helping and they betray the United States by taking money that they’re not entitled to," United States Attorney Middle District of Florida Gregory Kehoe said.

National health takedown

Big picture view:

These local operations are part of the Department of Justice's 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. This year's nationwide law enforcement action has resulted in charges against 455 defendants, including 90 doctors and licensed medical professionals, covering 56 federal districts and 45 U.S. states and territories.

Fraud enforcement taskforce

The backstory:

The enforcement surge follows the Department of Justice's creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division on April 7. The division works alongside a federal task force chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within benefit programs.

Reporting health fraud

What you can do:

The public can report suspected healthcare or insurance scams directly to federal oversight bodies. Tips regarding Medicare or Medicaid fraud can be filed with the Department of Health and Human Services online at TIPS.HHS.GOV or by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS.

TampaCrime and Public Safety