NEWARK, N.J. — A Connecticut man has admitted his involvement in a multimillion-dollar health care fraud and kickback scheme involving durable medical equipment (DME), U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced. Jesse Foote, 58, of Fairfield, Connecticut, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to charges of conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback statute and conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
According to court documents and statements made during the hearing, Foote participated in the scheme from December 2017 to March 2021. He worked with overseas telemarketing call centers, DME suppliers, telemedicine companies, and doctors to submit fraudulent claims to health care benefit programs, including Medicare and TRICARE, through a network of kickbacks and bribes.
Foote managed a marketing company that purchased patient “leads” from overseas telemarketing companies. These leads contained information about Medicare beneficiaries and included pre-written doctors’ orders for DME. The telemarketing centers targeted Medicare beneficiaries and other insured individuals, persuading them to accept DME, such as orthotic braces, without regard to medical necessity. Foote paid bribes and kickbacks to telemedicine companies, which then paid doctors to approve the DME orders, often without any contact with the beneficiaries or a legitimate assessment of medical necessity.
Foote then sold these signed doctors’ orders to others with whom he had kickback arrangements. These orders were eventually submitted by DME suppliers, including those controlled by Foote, to health care benefit programs such as Medicare, TRICARE, and private insurers. The scheme resulted in the submission of more than $7.8 million in false and fraudulent claims.
Foote faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the kickback conspiracy charge and up to 10 years for the health care fraud conspiracy charge. Both charges carry a potential fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater. Sentencing is scheduled for January 21, 2025.