The owner of two telemedicine companies was sentenced today to 120 months in prison and ordered to pay $66 million in restitution for her role in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment and prescription drugs.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Jean Wilson, 54, of Richmond Hill, Georgia, is a licensed nurse practitioner who owned and operated two telemedicine companies between 2017 and 2019. Through these companies, Wilson and others paid illegal kickbacks to medical providers to sign orders for orthotic braces and prescriptions for pharmaceutical drugs for Medicare beneficiaries, even though the beneficiaries did not need the braces or drugs. Wilson signed many of the prescriptions herself.
“The defendant—a nurse practitioner responsible for the care and safety of her patients—exploited our health care system, conspiring to submit over $136 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Today’s lengthy sentence underscores the Fraud Division’s commitment to fighting fraud at every turn to restore public trust in our institutions. We will work tirelessly to hold corrupt medical professionals accountable and recover stolen taxpayer dollars for the American people.”
After acquiring the signed orders and prescriptions, Wilson and others illegally sold them to purported marketing companies for approximately $90 per Medicare beneficiary. The marketing companies often re-sold the orders to brace companies and pharmacies, which in turn submitted claims for medically unnecessary braces and drugs to Medicare. Wilson and her coconspirators at marketing companies pressured Medicare beneficiaries into accepting as many braces as possible, and evidence showed that practitioners working for Wilson signed orders for four or more orthotics per beneficiary for over 3,000 beneficiaries. In fact, over 40 beneficiaries received orders for ten or more orthotics. Wilson attempted to conceal her conduct by using shell accounts and putting in place nominee owners for her companies, including using a member of Wilson’s church to open a bank account in the name of one of her telemedicine companies. During the conspiracy, Wilson and others submitted over $136 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, of which Medicare paid over $66 million. Wilson and her husband Reinaldo Wilson, who was previously sentenced to 7 years for his involvement in the conspiracy, used illicit proceeds from the scheme to purchase luxury vehicles, including multiple Rolls-Royces.
After her arrest and indictment, Wilson held herself out as a “Medical Professional Legal Consultant” and authored multiple books on health care compliance. In her book, “Avoiding Health Care Pitfalls,” Wilson warned, “Some entities and individuals will try to use you as a way to make them millions!”
Wilson pleaded guilty in March 2024 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud.
Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division; Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddie of the FBI Newark Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) New York Regional Office made the announcement.
FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Darren C. Halverson and Nicholas K. Peone of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of eight strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
