Two South Florida men, Michael Kochen and Sandro Herek, were sentenced to federal prison on July 30 for their involvement in a scheme that resulted in approximately $35 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare Advantage plans for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment. Senior U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham sentenced Kochen, 42, of Aventura, Florida, to 204 months in federal prison and Herek, 56, of Coral Springs, Florida, to 92 months after their convictions at trial.
Kochen was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud, six counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks, and three counts of payment of health care kickbacks. Herek was convicted on similar charges related to the conspiracy and receipt of kickbacks. According to court documents presented at trial, Kochen owned several companies selling durable medical equipment supplies such as braces and paid illegal kickbacks to Herek and others who recruited Medicare beneficiaries.
“These defendants targeted elderly Medicare Advantage beneficiaries with relentless telemarketing and unnecessary medical equipment, generating approximately $35 million in fraudulent claims and more than $19 million in payments,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “Michael Kochen and Sandro Herek treated vulnerable seniors as profit centers and federal health care programs as personal bank accounts. These substantial prison sentences hold them accountable, and we will pursue the forfeiture and recovery of their ill-gotten gains.”
Special Agent in Charge Isaac M. Bledsoe from the Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General said, “These sentencings underscore the commitment of HHS-OIG to protecting the integrity of federal health care programs as well as the health and well-being of the many Americans who rely on those programs.” Bledsoe added, “Exploiting Medicare Advantage beneficiaries through deceptive telemarketing and fraudulent claims is not only illegal, it is reprehensible. These outcomes send a clear message: those who engage in health care fraud will be held accountable.”
Evidence showed that overseas call centers under Herek’s direction aggressively contacted elderly individuals using high-pressure tactics so they would accept braces regardless of necessity or desire; physicians frequently issued authorizations based solely on call recordings rather than individualized evaluations; some did not speak with patients at all or conducted brief calls without meaningful assessment.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District oversees an area spanning about 15,197 square miles across nine counties serving more than seven million residents with branch offices including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Fort Pierce, and Key West; it operates under the Department of Justice and has over two hundred assistant attorneys along with additional staff members dedicated to prosecuting federal criminal and civil cases, according to its official website.