Two Florida men were sentenced after prosecutors said they ran a $34.8 million scheme that billed Medicare for thousands of orthotic braces that beneficiaries did not need, using fake doctors’ orders, illegal kickbacks, and a network of shell DME companies to hide the fraud.
Federal prosecutors say Kenneth Charles Kessler III, 43, of Miami, and Michael Andrew Gomez, 43, of Miramar, ran seven durable medical equipment companies that submitted millions in false claims. The case centers on orthotic braces shipped to beneficiaries who neither requested nor needed them, with Medicare billed for the shipments.
In court filings agents laid out how the scheme operated through sham paperwork and payments to corrupt providers to obtain signed doctors’ orders that vouched for medical necessity. “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. Their prison sentences make clear: if you steal from Medicare, you will be caught, you will be prosecuted, and you will be held accountable.”
Prosecutors say Kessler and Gomez obtained fraudulent signed orders through illegal kickbacks and bribes, then used those orders to ship braces across the country. Many of the recipients did not ask for or need the devices, yet claims were submitted and paid by Medicare once the paperwork appeared to be in order.
The U.S. Attorney’s office issued a blunt statement about accountability as sentences were handed down. “Medicare is not a blank check for fraudsters,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “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. Today’s sentences reinforce a simple message: if you steal from our health care programs, we will find you, prosecute you, and hold you accountable.”
Investigators allege the pair hid activity by shifting billing among their multiple DME companies whenever one account drew scrutiny or faced payment suspension. That kind of rolling billing pattern is a classic method prosecutors say was used to keep fraudulent claims flowing while trying to stay one step ahead of oversight.
The documents show Kessler netted more than $1.4 million and Gomez more than $2.3 million from the scheme, according to prosecutors. Sentences followed guilty pleas in May 2026: Kessler received 33 months in prison and Gomez received 24 months, reflecting the roles each played and the financial benefits they reaped.
https://x.com/USAO_SDFL/status/2095995974619684941
Federal investigators including the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General brought the case together, and attorneys from the National Fraud Enforcement Division’s Health Care Fraud Section handled the prosecution. The announcement named Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald, U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones, Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda Bennett of HHS-OIG as involved officials.
Officials noted that the Department of Justice created the National Fraud Enforcement Division to zero in on fraud against Americans and that this work supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance. That task force aims to coordinate federal action against schemes that drain benefit programs and private dollars alike.
The Justice Department also highlighted long-running strike force work on health care fraud. The Health Care Fraud Strike Force program has charged thousands of defendants and tied together schemes that, taken as a whole, involved tens of billions in billed claims since its launch. Prosecutors said continued enforcement and cross-agency cooperation are central to deterring similar abuse and protecting taxpayer-funded programs.
