June 7, (THEWILL) — The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has placed a $150,000 reward, estimated at N250 million, on Herbert Leon Kimble, a convicted fraudster accused of masterminding a massive healthcare scheme that generated over $1.2 billion in fraudulent Medicare charges, after he allegedly absconded ahead of sentencing.
The US law enforcement agency disclosed that Kimble, who was last known to be residing in Manila, Philippines, is now the subject of an active manhunt after failing to appear before a US court for sentencing in August 2024.
Details published by the FBI showed that Kimble allegedly stood at the centre of a complex healthcare fraud operation that exploited America’s Medicare system through the marketing and distribution of durable medical equipment (DME), particularly orthopedic braces prescribed under questionable circumstances.
Federal investigators said the operation, which ran from approximately 2014 through March 2019, relied on a sophisticated call-centre structure used to recruit Medicare beneficiaries and drive a nationwide fraud network involving telemedicine providers, medical equipment suppliers, and orthopedic brace distributors.
According to investigators, many individuals, many of them elderly citizens, were contacted and persuaded to seek orthopedic braces purportedly intended for pain management and related health conditions.
Authorities, however, alleged that many of the prescribed braces lacked medical necessity and were approved through telemedicine consultations conducted without proper clinical examination or legitimate medical evaluation.
The FBI stated that prescriptions generated through the process were then sold to durable medical equipment companies, while suppliers associated with the operation delivered the braces to beneficiaries before reimbursement claims were submitted to Medicare.
The agency said the scheme eventually produced more than $1.2 billion in Medicare charges, affecting thousands of beneficiaries across the United States and resulting in significant financial losses to the federal healthcare system.
Court filings referenced by the FBI revealed that Kimble pleaded guilty on April 4, 2019, before the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, Columbia Division.
His guilty plea covered a range of offences, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, submission of false claims to a federal agency, mail fraud, wire fraud, healthcare fraud, and conspiracy involving kickbacks and bribes.
Despite admitting to the offences, Kimble failed to appear for his sentencing hearing scheduled for August 27, 2024, prompting authorities to issue an arrest warrant the same day.
He was subsequently charged with failure to appear before the court.
The FBI has appealed to members of the public with information regarding Kimble’s location to contact its toll-free tip line, visit local FBI offices, notify the nearest US Embassy or Consulate, or provide information through the agency’s online reporting platform.
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