Florida Man Pleads Guilty in Conspiracy to Defraud Medicare of $39.5M

CONCORD, Florida—A Florida man pleaded guilty in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to defraud Medicare of $39.5 million, announced U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young.

Christopher Spellman of Port Richey, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and was charged on July 17. U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliott scheduled sentencing for Nov. 21, 2024. 

According to court documents, Spellman and his co-conspirators owned and operated Dimon Business Solution, LLC, a purported durable medical equipment (DME) management company. The company operated a network of DME supplier businesses throughout the country, including two in New Hampshire. However, Spellman and his co-conspirators concealed their ownership interests in the DME suppliers by using nominee owners. 

Spellman and his co-conspirators paid kickbacks and bribes for signed doctors’ orders prescribing orthotic braces. As a result, Medicare beneficiaries received orthotic braces that were medically unnecessary, procured through illegal kickbacks or bribes and often unwanted. 

During the conspiracy, Spellman and his co-conspirators submitted, or caused the submission of, false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for more than $39.5 million in orthotic braces that were medically unnecessary, ineligible for Medicare reimbursement or not provided as represented. Medicare paid at least $23 million for these claims to DME suppliers, which were secretly owned and operated by Spellman and his co-conspirators. 

The charging statute provided a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. sentencing guidelines, as well as statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.