Two men who ran a telemarketing operation aimed at older Medicare recipients are heading to federal prison, one of them for 17 years. Prosecutors in South Florida proved that the pair pressured elderly Medicare Advantage members into accepting braces and other equipment they neither needed nor wanted, then billed insurers roughly $35 million. The case is a window into a fraud that quietly costs the Medicare system — and the beneficiaries who fund it — hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
The $35 million durable medical equipment scheme in South Florida
Michael Kochen, 42, of Aventura, a health care executive, was sentenced to 204 months in federal prison — 17 years. Sandro Herek, 56, of Coral Springs, who owned a telemarketing company, received 92 months. Both were sentenced in the Southern District of Florida after being convicted at trial, and the sentences leave no question of guilt: these are convictions, not accusations.
The scheme centered on durable medical equipment — back, knee, shoulder and ankle braces — submitted as about $35 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare Advantage plans. Those claims resulted in more than $19 million in payments before the operation was shut down. The FBI’s Miami field office detailed the case and the roles each man played.
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How the telemarketing pressure worked
The engine of the scheme was deceptive telemarketing. Prosecutors showed that the operation targeted elderly Medicare Advantage beneficiaries and pressured them into accepting braces they did not need or want — equipment that was then billed to their plans regardless of medical necessity. Kochen was also convicted of health care kickback counts, part of the machinery that keeps this kind of fraud moving: paying to generate the patient contacts and orders that turn into billable claims.
Brace schemes like this one follow a familiar script. A call center reaches large numbers of older adults, a sales pitch or a signature nudges them toward “free” equipment, and the paperwork needed to bill an insurer follows. The braces themselves are cheap relative to what the plans are charged, and the volume is where the money is — millions of dollars in claims assembled one phone call at a time.
The kickback counts against Kochen point to the part of the machine that keeps the calls coming. Deceptive telemarketing needs a steady supply of patient contacts and orders, and paying for that supply — the conduct the kickback charges describe — is what links a call center to the claims that eventually reach a Medicare Advantage plan. The gap between the roughly $35 million billed and the more than $19 million actually paid shows how much a single operation can push through before the claims are stopped, and even the paid figure represents millions diverted from plans that cover older enrollees.
Why Medicare Advantage members were the target
Older adults enrolled in Medicare Advantage are attractive targets for two reasons: their plans pay for covered equipment, and many are open to an unsolicited offer that sounds like a benefit they have earned. A caller who frames a brace as something “Medicare covers at no cost” is trading on that trust. The people at the other end of the line are often managing chronic pain or mobility issues, which makes a pitch for a back or knee brace sound plausible.
The financial damage does not stop with the insurers that paid the $19 million. Fraudulent equipment claims add to the cost pressure across Medicare Advantage, and that pressure feeds into the premiums, benefit cuts and plan exits that older enrollees ultimately absorb. A scheme that enriches its operators also quietly taxes every honest beneficiary in the program.
There is a second cost that is easy to overlook: the beneficiaries themselves become part of the paper trail. When a plan is billed for equipment in a member’s name, that member’s records now show a claim they never sought, which can complicate future coverage decisions and, in some cases, expose their information to further misuse. Accepting an unnecessary brace is rarely harmless, even when the equipment appears to arrive at no charge, because the value to the fraudster is the beneficiary’s identity and plan number, not the plastic and Velcro.
Spotting an unsolicited brace or equipment pitch
The clearest warning sign is the one that defined this case: an unsolicited call offering medical equipment. Legitimate durable medical equipment is prescribed by a treating physician who has actually examined the patient, not generated by a telemarketer working from a call list. An offer of “free” braces, a request for a Medicare or plan number over the phone, or pressure to accept equipment on the spot are all reasons to hang up.
Beneficiaries and family caregivers can also check the plan’s explanation of benefits or Medicare statements for braces and equipment that were never used or never arrived, since those entries are often the first visible trace of a scheme. Suspected fraud can be reported to the plan and to Medicare. The two men in this case ran their operation for years before enforcement caught up — and the scrutiny of individual members reviewing their own statements is part of what shortens the runway for the next one.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Financial Wire editorial team.
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David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
