Former Mississippi college football star Joel Rufus French has been sentenced in his federal fraud case.
French, 48, was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for his $197 million Medicare fraud scheme that targeted seniors and disabled veterans, the US Department of Justice said in a statement Friday, May 8.
He participated in a multi-year plan to defraud Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) by selling patient information and forged doctor’s orders for orthotic braces that patients did not desire.
French was found guilty in February of conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to provide, pay, solicit, and receive kickbacks. He was also ordered to pay $111 million in restitution and forfeit almost $17 million that the government had taken from bank accounts.
“Fueled by lies, bribes, and overseas telemarketers, this corrupt scheme preyed on senior citizens and disabled veterans to flood the country with unnecessary medical devices — and then billed the taxpayer for it,” Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division said in a statement.
“Today’s sentence makes clear that if you target America’s elderly, sick, or vulnerable — and rob America’s purse doing so — you will be targeted and brought to justice,” McDonald said.
According to the Justice Department, French used overseas telemarketing call centers to coerce elderly Americans into providing personal information and agreeing to needless orthotic braces. In certain situations, the centers altered the call recordings.
He sold the orders to marketers and businesses, which then submitted claims to Medicare.
French scammed Medicare and CHAMPVA by charging them for orthotic braces through eight of his own durable medical equipment (DME) supply firms.
He also laundered around $225,000 in cash from a Mississippi bank, with more than $10,000 being used to pay accomplices.
French played tight end for the University of Mississippi Rebels from 1996 to 1998. In 1998, he was named a unanimous All-American by Ole Miss Sports. He later joined the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent. After two seasons in Seattle, he joined the Green Bay Packers practice squad. French has never appeared in an NFL game.
His son, Charleston, plays football at the University of North Carolina.
Leave a Reply