A Texas man was sentenced to 90 months in prison after a federal investigation found he ran a scheme that generated $59.9 million in false Medicare claims for durable medical equipment.
Federal prosecutors announced that Patrick Cassells, 65, of Fulshear, Texas, was sentenced to 90 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to pay kickbacks and submit claims for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment to Medicare. Court records say Cassells owned and operated three DME companies and hid his control of one company by listing another individual as the sole owner and manager on a Medicare enrollment application. The scheme relied on falsified paperwork and sham business practices to bill the government for orthotic braces.
Cassells allegedly paid illegal kickbacks to co-conspirators who provided signed doctors’ orders and other documentation needed to bill Medicare for knee, back, shoulder and wrist braces. Those kickbacks were disguised by referring to the doctors’ orders as “leads” and the services provided as “marketing.” According to prosecutors, the orders were issued without doctors actually examining or treating the patients, yet they were used to justify claims indicating the braces were medically necessary.
Through the three companies, Cassells caused over $59.9 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, and Medicare paid out more than $27 million on those claims. Prosecutors say Cassells used some of the fraud proceeds to buy personal vehicles and additional vehicles he planned to export to Nigeria. In June 2024, Cassells pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
In addition to the prison term, the court ordered Cassells to pay $25,402,614.97 in restitution and forfeiture and to forfeit four vehicles and three properties in the Houston area. The case remains a stark example of how organized abuse of the Medicare system can produce massive losses to taxpayers when unscrupulous operators exploit program rules and the paperwork-driven reimbursement process.
Federal authorities said the case was investigated by HHS-OIG, the FBI, and the Texas Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas; Special Agent in Charge Jason Meadows of HHS-OIG’s Dallas Region; Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams of the FBI’s Houston Field Office; and Chief William Marlow of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit announced the enforcement actions and penalties.
Acting Assistant Chief Catherine Wagner and Trial Attorney Adam Tisdall of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, together with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristine Rollinson for the Southern District of Texas, prosecuted the case. The prosecution highlights the Fraud Section’s ongoing work to disrupt schemes that drain federal health care programs. Investigators say coordinated enforcement and interagency cooperation are critical to stopping sophisticated fraud networks.
Officials also pointed to broader action this year aimed at reducing DME fraud, including a nationwide six-month moratorium on Medicare enrollment for durable medical equipment suppliers announced by a fraud task force led by Vice President J.D. Vance. That pause targeted rampant enrollment abuse and was followed by additional indictments, convictions, and sentences in other DME fraud matters across the country. Recent related cases include large recovery orders and allegations in multiple states tied to telemedicine and DME billing schemes.
The Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force program continues to concentrate resources on high-dollar fraud affecting federal health care programs. Since March 2007 the program, now made up of multiple strike forces across federal districts, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion. Prosecutors say those results show what coordinated, persistent enforcement can achieve against organized fraud.
Cases like Cassells’ underline the vulnerability of paperwork-driven reimbursement systems to abuse when oversight lapses and bad actors exploit gaps. Federal officials emphasize that robust fraud investigations, combined with civil remedies and criminal penalties, are necessary to protect program integrity and limit taxpayer losses. The sentence, forfeiture and restitution ordered in this case reflect both punishment and recovery priorities built into federal health care enforcement efforts.
