Florida Man Admits $42m Medicare Fraud Involving Medical Equipment and Cancer Tests

November 14, 2026 | By Semahegn Nigatu

A Florida businessman has pleaded guilty to a healthcare fraud scheme involving more than 42 million US dollars in fraudulent Medicare claims and illegal payments linked to cancer genetic testing, in a case that also involved a fraudulent government pandemic loan.

Chad Monroe, 48, of Tarpon Springs, Florida, admitted to conspiring with others to submit false claims for medical equipment and genetic tests that Medicare beneficiaries did not need or request, according to the US Department of Justice.

The scheme involved more than 26 million US dollars in fraudulent claims submitted through three medical equipment companies: Maksix Medical Products Inc., Orthotech Atlanta LLC and 1st Choice Medical Supply LLC. The claims covered items including knee, wrist, ankle and back braces, as well as cancer genetic testing, and were submitted to Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans and TRICARE.

Prosecutors said Monroe concealed his ownership and involvement in the companies by directing associates to submit false information in Medicare enrolment documents. He also paid illegal kickbacks to purported telemedicine companies to obtain doctors' orders authorising medical equipment and genetic testing.

Through another company, Health and Life Networking LLC, Monroe sold doctors' orders for genetic testing to laboratories involved in the scheme, receiving more than 15 million US dollars in illegal kickbacks.

The case also involved the misuse of pandemic-era government assistance. Monroe directed an associate to submit a fraudulent application for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan worth more than 30,000 US dollars, concealing information about the ownership of 1st Choice Medical Supply to qualify for the funding.

According to court documents, Monroe used proceeds from the scheme to finance an expensive lifestyle, including purchasing a 47-foot yacht valued at more than 600,000 US dollars, named The Rogue Shark, a Cadillac Escalade and other luxury vehicles. Authorities seized the yacht and more than one million US dollars in connection with the case.

Monroe pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and one count of wire fraud. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on the healthcare fraud conspiracy charge and 30 years on the wire fraud charge. A sentencing date has not been announced.

The investigation involved the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of War's Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation division.

The case forms part of the Justice Department's wider healthcare fraud enforcement efforts. Its Health Care Fraud Strike Force Programme, comprising nine task forces operating across federal districts, has charged more than 6,200 defendants since 2007 in cases involving more than 45 billion US dollars in alleged fraudulent billings to federal healthcare programmes and private insurers.

Source: FSX Business News