A Texas man was sentenced to more than 12 years behind bars after leading a $61.5 million Medicare fraud ring that shipped medically unnecessary orthotic braces, foot baths, and genetic tests to thousands of elderly beneficiaries through deceptive telemarketing and fake doctors’ orders.
A federal court handed down a sentence of over 12 years in prison plus two years of supervised release to Robert “Bobby” Leon Smith III, 50, of Archer City, Texas, for organizing and operating a sprawling fraud conspiracy. Victims received thousands of devices and tests they did not need, while Medicare was billed millions for products and services with no legitimate medical basis.
Prosecutors say Smith owned and ran seven durable medical equipment supply companies across Florida, Texas, and Maryland and used them to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare. Authorities allege those companies generated false paperwork and billing that inflated costs and funneled millions through the scheme, turning patient trust into profit for bad actors.
Smith also allegedly ran a marketing company in Texas that coordinated deceptive telemarketing campaigns aimed squarely at Medicare beneficiaries. Working with an offshore call center in the Philippines, he and co-conspirators pressured seniors into accepting unneeded orthotic braces, foot baths, and genetic tests, with audio recordings presented at trial capturing that aggressive push.
The scheme depended on doctored documentation and corrupt referrals, according to court records. Smith is accused of paying kickbacks to illegitimate telemedicine companies to obtain doctors’ orders, then selling those orders to other suppliers who used them to file false claims; in trial recordings Smith complained about orders he could not sell, calling them “trash” and “junk.”
Testimony also described a shift toward outright forgeries when legitimate orders ran out, with former business partners testifying that fake doctors’ orders containing forged signatures were circulated to keep the billing machine running. After a four-day jury trial, Smith pleaded guilty in March 2025 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and to health care fraud.
Smith briefly absconded and failed to appear for sentencing, remaining at large for over a month before U.S. Marshals captured him and returned him to federal custody. At sentencing the Court ordered roughly $30 million in restitution and the forfeiture of about $9 million in cash plus real estate in Texas as part of efforts to claw back proceeds of the fraud.
The case was announced by Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office. HHS-OIG and the FBI investigated the conduct, and Trial Attorney Owen Dunn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts against health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, which since March 2007 has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health programs and private insurers more than $45 billion. Federal and regulatory partners continue to work together to identify and hold accountable providers and middlemen who exploit programs meant to protect the sick and elderly.
