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Ex-NFL Player Gets More Than 16 Years
in Prison in $197 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

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Posted By: sunset, 5/9/2026 10:47:28 PM

Federal prosecutors say a former NFL player orchestrated a sprawling healthcare fraud operation that targeted elderly Americans and the families of disabled veterans, generating nearly $200 million in false Medicare and CHAMPVA claims through sham telemarketing campaigns, fake doctors’ orders, and hidden medical supply companies. A former NFL player who owned a marketing company and was the beneficial owner of eight durable medical equipment (DME) companies has been sentenced to 196 months in federal prison for his role in a yearslong healthcare fraud scheme that defrauded Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) out of nearly $200 million.

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Reply 1 - Posted by: cThree 5/9/2026 11:59:16 PM (No. 2102617)
I'm not saying the sentence is inappropriate. I'm sure it is. But why is violent crime treated as if leniency is the cure? How often must we read about outrageously lenient plea deals and "prosecutor discretion" minimalist prosecution? Why can't we see that leniency itself is the disease?
27 people like this.

Reply 2 - Posted by: joew9 5/10/2026 12:05:38 AM (No. 2102618)
The rehab place offered us a wheelchair. We didn't need one but they insisted and it got ordered anyway. We didn't have to pay anything but Medicare paid a local medical equipment company $3,000. The exact same wheelchair was available from Amazon for $157. The medical equipment company's bill to medicare described the wheelchair in terms that were more complicated than a Moon lander. They were obviously trying to confuse medicare into thinking it was something special. Not only was it not special but it was delivered broken.
33 people like this.

Reply 3 - Posted by: PrayerWarrior 5/10/2026 12:07:16 AM (No. 2102619)
Is there any chance we could get our taxpayer monies back on the Medicare fraud scam?
20 people like this.

Reply 4 - Posted by: sunset 5/10/2026 2:48:57 AM (No. 2102633)
Would not be surprised if those call centers were USAID foreign job programs.
18 people like this.

Reply 5 - Posted by: Venturer 5/10/2026 6:59:53 AM (No. 2102651)
Joel Rufus French, just another usual suspect ripping off people who need help.
11 people like this.

Reply 6 - Posted by: JHHolliday 5/10/2026 7:48:20 AM (No. 2102669)
At least they caught this one guy and actually gave him prison time. $200,000,000!!. Is there not even basic oversight that checks anything when that much money, our taxpayer money, goes out the door? The left claims that they are the ones who are the champions for the old and poor yet if fraud like this could be stopped, SS recipients could have their monthly checks doubled with the savings.
13 people like this.

Reply 7 - Posted by: Strike3 5/10/2026 7:57:05 AM (No. 2102673)
The Leftists will now claim that NFL players should be paid more money since they obviously can't survive on what they make now and must resort to crime. Medicare shares much of the blame for making it so easy by allowing every piece of junk pushed by "doctors" eligible for support by US taxpayers. Phones, stairlifts, wheelchairs, and all manner of convenience are deemed medically necessary.
3 people like this.

Reply 8 - Posted by: Rumblehog 5/10/2026 9:24:10 AM (No. 2102712)
That used to mean something when the NFL (NFC/AFC) recruited exclusively College Graduates from schools that promoted hard work, good academics, and strict adherence to authority of coach and administration. Today the time spent in those same schools is much like the jungle-gyms at McDonalds, it's the place where the "kids" have fun while waiting for the "Happy Meal" to come. My cynical, cold-hearted takeaway if this "former player" is that he was probably a thug from grade-school on past his last NFL play. Along the way, putting more money in his bank account didn't seem to change any bit of his character.
5 people like this.

Reply 9 - Posted by: DVC 5/10/2026 11:40:05 AM (No. 2102807)
#1 has a point. Rapists and child molesters get 6 months probation. Murderers get 3 years. And a big time fraudster gets WHAT HE DESERVES. Frankly, the murderers deserve 30+ years, or just execution, and the rapists deserver 20+ years. Child molesters should be locked up until they come out in their casket.
3 people like this.

Reply 10 - Posted by: Lucky5 5/10/2026 2:59:53 PM (No. 2102845)
A Somali scammer convicted in Minnesota’s largest-ever Medicaid fraud case will likely avoid jail time after striking a plea deal with state Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office last week. Said Awil Ibrahim, 26, pled guilty on Friday to two counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle for his role in a sprawling home healthcare scheme that stole approximately $11 million in Medicaid funds from Minnesota’s personal care assistance program. Utterly disgusting. Justice is not a thing anymore.
3 people like this.

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Posted by sunset 5/9/2026 10:47:28 PM Post Reply
Federal prosecutors say a former NFL player orchestrated a sprawling healthcare fraud operation that targeted elderly Americans and the families of disabled veterans, generating nearly $200 million in false Medicare and CHAMPVA claims through sham telemarketing campaigns, fake doctors’ orders, and hidden medical supply companies. A former NFL player who owned a marketing company and was the beneficial owner of eight durable medical equipment (DME) companies has been sentenced to 196 months in federal prison for his role in a yearslong healthcare fraud scheme that defrauded Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) out of nearly $200 million.
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