Software company owner convicted for running "cold, calculated" $1 billion Medicare fraud scheme
The owner of a healthcare software company was convicted of massive Medicare fraud on Thursday, the Department of Justice said, ending what Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called "one of the most egregious fraud schemes in Florida history."
HealthSplash owner and CEO Brett Blackman, 42, and co-conspirators "aggressively targeted hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries to get them to accept medically unnecessary" products including orthotic braces, according to a DOJ news release.
Blackman and his co-conspirators used Power Mobility Doctor Rx, LLC, or DMERx, a platform acquired by HealthSplash in 2017, to coordinate illegal kickbacks with telemedicine doctors and pharmacies that would falsely bill Medicare for the unnecessary items, the DOJ said. The fraud was hidden with sham contracts and manipulation of documents.
The scheme included generating "false and fraudulent doctors' orders" that indicated a doctor had examined a Medicare beneficiary, when in reality the doctor had little or no interaction with the patient. When an undercover agent posed as a Medicare beneficiary, they were shunted to an overseas call center, where representatives pushed them to agree to order multiple braces, according to the Justice Department. A doctor's note claims that a physician conducted various tests on the undercover agent, but the agent and doctor never met, the DOJ said.
Blackman and his co-conspirators billed Medicare and other federal healthcare benefit programs over $1 billion throughout the course of the scheme, the Department of Justice said. Medicare and the other programs paid out more than $450 million.
Blackman showcased his wealth in a music video, including showing off a large waterfront property. A photo shared by the Justice Department shows Blackman posing in gold accessories, including a necklace with a large dollar sign.
Blackman was convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks, and conspiracy to defraud the United States and to make false statements in connection with healthcare matters, according to the Department of Justice. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the charges of healthcare and wire fraud, and an additional five years on the other counts. A sentencing hearing is set for Aug. 26.
"This illegitimate operation stole more than $1 billion from American taxpayers — including hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries," Blanche said in a statement. "This was cold, calculated, industrial-scale theft targeting the sick and elderly, coercing vulnerable people into buying unnecessary medical equipment. We will not rest until every fraudster ripping off the American people is held accountable."
Blackman's co-defendant Gary Cox was convicted in June 2025, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Cox was the CEO of DMERx.
Medicare fraud has become a hot political topic, with Republicans and Democrats each blaming the other party for the problem. But the reality is that fraud occurs in both blue and red states.
Blackman and his co-defendants were originally indicted in 2023, under the Biden administration. The Trump administration has named targeting fraud one of its key priorities, leading to several press conferences and announcements on the issue.
In April 2026, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Fraud Division. Mr. Trump has also established a task force, chaired by Vice President JD Vance, focused on eliminating fraud. Healthcare fraud, particularly in the hospice and home healthcare space, has been a particular target for the administration.
CBS News has been investigating hospice fraud for months. One investigation examined the business and financial records of every hospice currently operating in LA County, California, applying the same indicators identified by state auditors as potential red flags for fraud. The analysis revealed that over 700 of the roughly 1,800 hospices in LA County trigger multiple red flags for fraud as defined by the state.
The CBS News investigation also found one Los Angeles County hospice physician's name, Dr. Rajiv Bhuva, on Medicare claims for nearly 2,800 patients across 126 California hospices in 2024, according to the last full year of available data. Bhuva told CBS News he doubted the figures and said there was no statutory limit to the number of hospices any one physician can staff. But after a brief exchange, he declined to speak further. Bhuva is no longer allowed to bill Medicare.
In April, Republicans in Congress held a hearing on Capitol Hill, during which two of the people featured in the CBS News reporting were called to testify.
Earlier in April, five people in California were arrested for allegedly defrauding the state's Medicaid program of about $267 million.
