Two Florida Men Jailed for $34.8M Medicare Brace Fraud Scheme

Kenneth Kessler and Michael Gomez ran seven DME companies that billed Medicare $34.8M for unneeded orthotic braces. Both pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to prison.

Florida Pair Sentenced for $34.8 Million Medicare Fraud Involving Unnecessary Orthotic Braces

Two Florida men have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a $34.8 million health care fraud conspiracy, DOJ Justice News reports. Kenneth Charles Kessler III, 43, of Miami, and Michael Andrew Gomez, 43, of Miramar, submitted millions of dollars in false Medicare claims for orthotic braces that patients neither needed nor requested.

Kessler received a 33-month prison sentence; Gomez was sentenced to 24 months. Both pleaded guilty in May 2026 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Together, the two owned and operated seven durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies based in Florida. Through those companies, they submitted fraudulent Medicare claims for medically unnecessary orthotic braces, shipping the devices to beneficiaries across the country regardless of whether those beneficiaries had asked for them or had any medical need.

To obtain the necessary paperwork, Kessler and Gomez paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to acquire fraudulent signed doctors' orders. When Medicare moved to suspend payments to certain companies in response to billing irregularities, the pair shifted their fraudulent billing to other DME companies they controlled — effectively cycling through their corporate portfolio to stay ahead of enforcement actions.

Kessler personally profited more than $1.4 million from the scheme; Gomez cleared more than $2.3 million.

"These fraudsters billed Medicare $34.8 million for braces that patients didn't need and didn't request — and now they're paying the price," said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division. "They paid kickbacks for fake doctors' orders, shuffled billing among several companies to dodge payment suspensions, and pocketed millions that belonged to American taxpayers."

U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida echoed that message. "Medicare is not a blank check for fraudsters," Quiñones said. "These defendants built a $34.8 million scheme around medically unnecessary braces, fraudulent doctors' orders, and illegal kickbacks, all to enrich themselves at the expense of American taxpayers."

The case was investigated by the FBI's Miami Field Office and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). Trial Attorneys Aisha Schafer Hylton and Owen Dunn of the National Fraud Enforcement Division's Health Care Fraud Section handled the prosecution.

The National Fraud Enforcement Division, announced by the Department of Justice on April 7, focuses exclusively on investigating and prosecuting fraud against the American public. Its work forms part of President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a government-wide initiative chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance targeting fraud, waste, and abuse in federal benefit programs.

Since 2007, the Department of Justice's Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program — currently operating nine strike forces across federal districts — has charged more than 6,200 defendants whose billings to federal health care programs and private insurers collectively exceeded $45 billion.

Source: DOJ Justice News