Prosecutors describe 22-year-old Florida man’s role in $39.5M health care fraud

A 22-year-old Florida man pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges related to his role in a $39.5 million health care fraud.

According to federal prosecutors, Christopher Spellman was part of a team that paid kickbacks and bribes for signed doctors’ orders prescribing orthotic braces to Medicare beneficiaries.

Spellman was the registered agent of Dimon Business Solution in Florida’s Pasco County. FBI agents found it operated as part of a network of durable medical equipment, or DME, management companies.

According to prosecutors, Spellman “submitted, or caused the submission of, false and fraudulent” claims, and Medicare paid at least $23 million out of the $39.5 in claims submitted.

Prosecutors charged Spellman on July 17 and U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliott plans to sentence him on Nov. 21. He faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service led the investigation.

For information on how to report Medicare fraud, call 1-866-471-2078.