The owner of two durable medical equipment companies has agreed to plead guilty in a health care fraud case involving nearly $30 million. Raju Sharma, 61, from Sharon, Massachusetts, will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. The court has yet to schedule a plea hearing. As part of the plea agreement, the government plans to recommend a sentence of 10 years in prison and over $15.8 million in restitution.
Sharma was initially arrested and charged in February 2025 but was released under certain conditions pending trial. However, he was later detained in April 2025 after violating these conditions by contacting a potential witness.
Charging documents allege that between February 2021 and February 2025, Sharma entered into contracts with telemarketing companies through his businesses Pharmagears, LLC and RR Medco, LLC. These companies generated orders for durable medical equipment (DME) by targeting Medicare beneficiaries. It is alleged that Sharma billed Medicare for unnecessary DME items that beneficiaries often did not want or could not use. Additionally, some orders were placed without proper medical examination or knowledge from practitioners whose national provider identifiers were used fraudulently.
The documents further claim that Sharma violated the anti-kickback statute by paying marketing companies on a per-lead or per-order basis rather than a flat fee as agreed upon in contracts.
Sharma allegedly collaborated with family members and acquaintances to establish additional fraudulent DME companies. These entities collectively billed Medicare approximately $29.6 million and received payments totaling about $15.8 million.
Proceeds from the alleged fraud were reportedly used by Sharma to acquire luxury items such as Ferraris, a Mercedes-Benz Model S, Rolex watches, and more than $250,000 seized from his bank accounts which he has agreed to forfeit under the plea agreement.
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud carries penalties including up to 10 years imprisonment, three years supervised release, and fines up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss.
The announcement came from United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Roberto Coviello of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General; Kimberly Milka of the FBI's Boston Division; with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service and Sharon Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Graber and Sarah Hoefle are prosecuting the case.
It is important to note that all details within charging documents are allegations until proven beyond reasonable doubt in court.
