A federal jury has convicted a Gainesville businesswoman of her role in a $8.6 million Medicare fraud scheme that used faked prescriptions and aggressive telemarketing to charge the government for unnecessary medical equipment, federal prosecutors reported.
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida found Sophie Dufort, 57, guilty; she owned one durable medical equipment company and managed numerous others.
According to the evidence given at the trial, Dufort colluded with 70-year-old Paula Pirone of Ocala, Florida, and others to charge Medicare for orthotic braces using forged doctor orders.
Trial documents revealed that the gang obtained patient leads and forged prescriptions from telemarketing companies that targeted seniors and individuals with disabilities. When faced with recordings of callers whose voices plainly did not match the actual patients, one co-conspirator stated that “some of the calls from overseas would be faked” to explain the orders.
Marketing firms involved in the operation either bribed practitioners into signing off on equipment orders without meeting the patients or just stole physicians’ credentials to fabricate papers. The orders were subsequently sold to businesses owned by Dufort and her accomplices.
Dufort’s companies mailed the unwanted braces to patients around the country, billing Medicare for millions. Trial testimony indicated that none of the patients had been checked previously, and a medical expert stated that wearing unnecessary brace combinations may be “very dangerous” for older individuals.
When consumers contacted to complain or attempted to return the shipments, firm staff “would just tell [them] to just get rid of them or… just pass them down” to avoid getting Medicare refunds, according to trial evidence.
Jurors found Dufort guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, two counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay illegal kickbacks, and one count of paying illegal kickbacks.
She faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the main conspiracy charge, up to ten years for each count of health care fraud and kickbacks, and up to five years for conspiracy to defraud the United States. The sentence hearing is planned for January 2027.
The verdict was delivered by United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe of the Middle District of Florida and Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. The FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William Hamilton and Trial Attorney Jody King.
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