“Mystery solved. Fraudsters CAUGHT.” That was the White House’s message Saturday in a Halloween-themed video about one of the biggest Medicare fraud cases in American history. “Someone’s billing Medicare for braces people don’t need,” the video says. “Over $365 million in fake claims.”
The man behind it is Herbert Leon Kimble, 60, of Chicago. According to the Justice Department, Kimble ran a telemedicine scheme out of the Philippines that pushed more than $365 million in fraudulent Medicare claims for orthotic braces patients did not need. Medicare paid out more than $199 million.
Kimble pleaded guilty back in 2019, then skipped his court date in 2024 and ran. Federal agents tracked him down in the Philippines this year and brought him back. A federal judge in South Carolina sentenced him to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and failure to appear. He owes more than $199 million in restitution and must forfeit more than $195 million.
“Fleeing overseas won’t spare healthcare fraudsters,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald. “We will follow them across continents and bring them back.” U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling called it “one of the largest international healthcare fraud schemes in our nation’s history.”
Under President Trump, stealing from Medicare and America’s seniors comes with a one-way ticket home and a long prison sentence. As the White House put it: “I guess that wraps up the mystery.”
