A Florida clinic CEO was sentenced to 13 months in prison and a VA employee to six months for a kickback scheme that steered veterans and their families into a clinic whose claims to the VA topped $14 million, the Justice Department (DOJ) said Nov. 5. Prosecutors say more than $11 million of those claims was paid. Both men are from Orlando.
Who was sentenced, and for what?
Heriberto Rivera, 43, was the CEO of Family Integrative Medicine of Orlando, LLC. He received 13 months in prison and was ordered to forfeit $515,542. Laurent Cassagnol, also 43, worked as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant for the VA Community Care Program and received six months in prison and a $175,172 forfeiture order.
The Justice Department says Rivera paid Cassagnol kickbacks and bribes. In return, Cassagnol used his VA job to steer veterans and their families to Rivera’s clinic for acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments and other holistic medical services. The department says the forfeitures represent the proceeds the defendants obtained from the offense.
For veterans and their relatives who have been sent to an outside clinic, the question is whether the referral was about their care or about someone’s payment. The Justice Department’s account says nothing of any patient being harmed or charged, and it names no specific patients. The claims in this case, though, were billed to the VA, which is where the more than $14 million figure comes from.
Stay ahead of government payment news: Miss an enrollment or claim deadline and the money can be gone. Join the Retirement Money Brief and we’ll send you our 2026 Government Check Reality Tracker as a welcome gift.
Get the Brief + the check tracker →
We may earn a commission from links on this page.
What is the VA Community Care Program?
It is the system VA uses to arrange care from outside providers when VA cannot give a veteran the care directly. VA says community care may cover veterans, family members and dependents, depending on the program. The page says its care coordination section covers how VA and community providers handle referrals, authorizations and medical documentation, and it mentions precertification requirements. VA’s general number is 1-800-698-2411, and the page links to separate fraud, waste and abuse reporting through VA’s Office of Integrity and Compliance.
That arrangement gave Cassagnol his opening. A person in his job sits between a veteran who needs care and the outside clinic that gets the referral. The department says he and Rivera abused that position and “put profit before the needs of VA patients.”
How big were the claims?
A kickback is a payment made to influence where a patient is sent. The department’s account is that Rivera paid Cassagnol, a VA employee in a position to refer veterans and their families, so that patients went to his clinic. Cassagnol’s six-month term is less than half of Rivera’s 13 months.
Over $14 million in fraudulent claims were submitted to the VA and the Community Care Program, the Justice Department says, and more than $11 million of them was paid. The sentences are much smaller than those figures. Rivera’s forfeiture of $515,542 and Cassagnol’s of $175,172 add up to $690,714, roughly 6 percent of the more than $11 million paid.
The release does not say what court handled the case, what the men pleaded to, how the kickbacks were paid or over what period the scheme ran. It does not order restitution to the VA. Only forfeiture is mentioned.
Who caught it, and who prosecuted?
The case began with a complaint to the VA Office of the Inspector General fraud hotline, the department says, and the FBI and VA-OIG investigated. Trial Attorneys Jody King and Angela Benoit of the Health Care Fraud Section in the Fraud Division prosecuted it.
Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the National Fraud Enforcement Division, FBI Tampa Special Agent in Charge Rodney E. Crawford and VA-OIG Southeast Field Office Acting Special Agent in Charge Josh Lollar announced the sentences. The department filed the announcement as press release 26-1327. Nothing in it says how many veterans were referred to the clinic or whether any were billed, and it does not name any of the patients. The department’s account is limited to the sentences, the forfeiture amounts and the claim totals.
Where do veterans report a steering scheme?
The VA Office of Inspector General takes complaints about fraud, waste or abuse involving veterans or VA through an online form and by phone at 1-800-488-8244. Phone hours are 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday. Complaints can also go by fax to 202-495-5861 or by mail to VA Inspector General Hotline (53H), 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20420. The OIG says it accepts electronic complaints only through its web forms, says VA employees may also contact the office, and it asks people not to send personal or protected health information through them.
The hotline is not a crisis line, and veterans in crisis are told to contact the Veterans Crisis Line. VA’s community care page lists that service as 988, then press 1, or text 838255.
Who gets paid when a veteran is steered to a helper?
This case was a billing scheme, not a pension scam, but it shows how someone who sits between a veteran and a benefit can be paid to point the veteran one way. Veterans and widows filing for VA pension or Aid & Attendance often meet paid helpers with their own interests.
The Veterans Benefits Action Kit is a 75-page guide that includes the pension-poacher warning signs, plus how to file for free with VA Form 21P-527EZ. Its Part 7, “Getting Help Without Being Robbed,” covers what to ask before anyone is paid to handle a veteran’s claim.
Get the veterans’ guide to pension-poacher warning signs and free filing →
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.
