The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has announced a reward of up to $150,000 (about N250 million) for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Herbert Leon Kimble, a convicted fraudster accused of orchestrating a massive healthcare fraud scheme that generated more than $1.2 billion in fraudulent Medicare charges.

According to information published on the FBI’s website, Kimble was last known to be residing in Manila, Philippines, and is currently wanted after failing to appear for a scheduled sentencing hearing in the United States.

The FBI said Kimble played a central role in a large-scale healthcare fraud conspiracy that targeted the Medicare system through the improper marketing and distribution of durable medical equipment (DME), particularly orthopedic braces.

Investigators said he operated a sophisticated call-centre-based network from around 2014 until March 2019, serving as the marketing engine for a nationwide fraud operation involving telemedicine providers, DME suppliers and orthopedic brace distributors.

The FBI stated that Kimble’s operation focused on contacting Medicare beneficiaries and persuading them to request orthopedic braces for pain relief. Many of the braces were allegedly unnecessary and prescribed through telemedicine consultations that lacked proper medical evaluation.

Authorities said the prescriptions were subsequently sold to DME companies, while suppliers linked to Kimble shipped the braces and the DME firms billed Medicare for reimbursement.

The agency noted that the scheme resulted in more than $1.2 billion in Medicare charges and affected thousands of beneficiaries, many of them elderly Americans.

Court records cited by the FBI show that on April 4, 2019, Kimble pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, Columbia Division, to conspiracy-related offences, including defrauding the United States, making false claims to a federal department, mail fraud, wire fraud, healthcare fraud, and offering kickbacks and bribes.

However, he failed to appear for his sentencing hearing on August 27, 2024.

Following his absence, federal authorities issued an arrest warrant for Kimble on the same day and charged him with failure to appear.

The FBI is urging anyone with information about Kimble’s whereabouts to contact its toll-free tip line, local FBI offices, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or submit information through its online tip portal. (Vanguard)

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