Christopher Harwood, 44, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was ordered to forfeit $10,431,463 on top of paying $17,942,402 in restitution to Medicare. The orders came with a 20-year prison sentence handed down October 23 for organizing a Medicare fraud conspiracy that ran more than six years, the Justice Department says. Harwood owned and operated a telemedicine company called TelevisitMD.
Forfeiture and restitution are two separate bills
Restitution goes to Medicare to make up for what it paid. Harwood owes $17,942,402, which matches the $17.9 million Medicare paid on his conspiracy’s claims. Forfeiture is a second order, $10,431,463, that takes proceeds from the defendant.
The forfeiture lines up with the profit figure in the release: Harwood personally profited more than $10.4 million, it says. Added together, the two orders total $28,373,865, a sum worked out here rather than one the government states.
The conspiracy caused $46.2 million in false claims to Medicare, and Medicare paid $17.9 million of them. By simple division, Medicare paid about 39 percent of what was billed. Everything the court ordered is in addition to the 20-year term.
How a telemedicine company sold doctors’ signatures
The Justice Department says Harwood’s operation used aggressive telemarketing to push Medicare patients into accepting orthotic braces and genetic tests they did not need. The rule of thumb on Medicare.gov cuts the other way: Medicare will not call to sell anything or visit a home, and people should not accept money or gifts in exchange for free medical care. A call offering a free brace or genetic test breaks it.
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HHS-OIG, the Health and Human Services inspector general, has published consumer warnings on a nationwide brace scam and a genetic testing scam. The brace alert recalls that HHS-OIG and law enforcement partners announced efforts in April 2019 to dismantle one of the largest health care fraud schemes ever investigated. The alerts tell the public to report suspected contacts to the OIG hotline.
Harwood then paid doctors to approve the orders, the release says. The doctors did not follow Medicare’s telemedicine rules, had no real medical relationship with the patients and often signed with little or no interaction.
He sold the signed orders to durable medical equipment suppliers, laboratories and marketers inside the scheme. Harwood also owned and operated several Florida equipment supply companies that billed Medicare millions of dollars for braces that patients did not want or need.
Medicare.gov adds that people should not let anyone but their doctor or Medicare providers review their medical records or recommend services, and should not join a Medicare health or drug plan over the phone unless they placed the call. It also advises comparing the dates and services on a calendar with Medicare statements.
Harwood’s role was that of a middleman. By the Justice Department’s account, the money came from selling signed orders to suppliers, laboratories and marketers who then billed Medicare. The forfeiture order of $10,431,463 sits just above the $10.4 million profit the release assigns him.
The plea, the officials and the prosecutor
Harwood pleaded guilty in March 2026 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. The sentencing came seven months later, and the release does not identify the judge. It refers to unnamed co-conspirators and names no other defendant.
The release says both orders were made at sentencing. It does not say how much of either amount has been collected or on what schedule it will be paid, and it describes no payment plan.
Colin M. McDonald, the Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, announced the sentence with Jason A. Reding Quiñones, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Brett Skiles, the FBI Miami special agent in charge, and Miranda Bennett, acting deputy inspector general for investigations at HHS-OIG, joined them.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated. Owen Dunn, a trial attorney in the Fraud Division’s Health Care Fraud Section, prosecuted the case. The release contains no direct quotes from any of the officials.
The program behind the case has charged more than 6,200 defendants since 2007, who collectively billed federal programs and private insurers over $45 billion, the Justice Department says.
Suspected billing fraud can be reported through the HHS-OIG fraud reporting page or by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS. Anyone filing should have names and contact details for the people or businesses involved, a short account of what happened and when, and any bills, emails or other records. Medicare.gov also lists 1-800-MEDICARE for suspected fraud.
Members of a Medicare Advantage or drug plan can call the Investigations Medicare Drug Integrity Contractor at 1-877-7SAFERX, Medicare.gov says. OIG cautions that it cannot contact every person who files and that its hotline decisions carry no appeal rights. It also rarely steps into personal refund disputes, so a wrong charge on one bill is best raised with the provider first.
Who helps pay the Medicare bills that are real?
Medicare lost $17.9 million to one telemedicine company’s claims, but the amounts that reach a household are its own premiums, deductibles and drug copays. Programs that trim those bills are opt-in, so benefits go unused when nobody applies.
The Medicare Cost & Coverage Protection Kit covers the new Part D out-of-pocket cap and includes a medication and cost tracker for logging what each prescription actually costs. Part 3, Get Help Paying, covers the programs that pay Medicare premiums and cut drug bills.
Pick up the Medicare costs kit and its medication tracker →
More Financial Reading
- 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- 17 Medicare Money Moves Now That Part D Caps at $2,400
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
