A Texas man was sentenced to 150 months in prison and two years of supervised release for organizing and leading a $61.5 million healthcare fraud and wire fraud conspiracy in which thousands of Medicare beneficiaries who were the victims of deceptive telemarketing were sent thousands of orthotic braces, foot baths, and genetic tests they did not need. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Robert “Bobby” Leon Smith III, 50, of Archer City, Texas, owned and operated seven durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies based in Florida, Texas, and Maryland through which he submitted millions of dollars in false claims to Medicare for orthotic braces and foot baths that beneficiaries did not need. Smith also owned a marketing company based in Texas that he used to conduct deceptive telemarketing campaigns that targeted Medicare beneficiaries for medical services they did not need. Working with an offshore call center located in the Philippines, Smith and his co-conspirators peddled medically unnecessary orthotic braces, foot baths, and genetic tests to Medicare beneficiaries nationwide. In audio recordings presented at trial, Smith was heard pressuring beneficiaries to accept these products even after the beneficiaries protested that they did not need or want them.
After four days of a jury trial, Smith pleaded guilty in March 2025 to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud and one count of healthcare fraud. Smith absconded and failed to appear for sentencing. He remained at large for over a month before he was apprehended by the US Marshals Service. At sentencing, the Court ordered Smith to pay $30,158,608.25 in restitution and to forfeit $9,215,225 as well as real estate located in Texas.