A Fairfield man was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for his role in a $7.8 million healthcare fraud and kickback scheme involving durable medical equipment, federal prosecutors said.
Jesse Foote, 60, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback statute and conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Prosecutors said Foote worked with overseas telemarketing call centers, telemedicine companies, doctors and medical equipment suppliers to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare, TRICARE and private insurers between 2017 and 2021.
Authorities said the scheme relied on kickbacks and bribes to obtain doctors’ orders for medical equipment that was often not medically necessary and, in some cases, approved without any contact with patients.
U.S. District Judge Esther Salas also sentenced Foote to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay about $7.9 million in restitution.
