In an update to a December 19, 2023, story, Robert “Bobby” Leon Smith III was sentenced to over 12 years in prison and ordered to pay over $30 million in restitution. Read a Department of Justice press release.
Robert Leon Smith III was charged for his alleged role in a $60 million health care fraud, wire fraud, and kickback scheme involving the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME), genetic tests, and foot bath medications. According to court documents, Smith paid kickbacks and bribes to offshore call centers operated by his co-conspirators to obtain Medicare beneficiary information and falsified doctors’ orders. The offshore call centers allegedly used deceptive tactics to pressure Medicare beneficiaries to accept the braces, tests, and medications. He also allegedly paid kickbacks and bribes to purported telemedicine companies in exchange for doctors’ orders signed by telemedicine practitioners who did not examine or treat the Medicare beneficiary. Read a Department of Justice press release.