Oklahoma man convicted of fraud scheme involving braces, CGMs

WASHINGTON – A federal jury in the Middle District of Florida has convicted an Oklahoma business owner and chiropractor for his role in a yearslong scheme that attempted to bilk Medicare, TRICARE, and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) out of more than $30 million by purchasing patient information, medical practitioner signatures and doctor orders for orthotic braces and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) that patients did not want or need, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). “The defendant turned private medical data into a pipeline for personal profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Every fake doctor’s order generated was a direct attack on systems built to care for some of our nation’s most vulnerable. (This) verdict makes clear that if you exploit our seniors and military families to fill your own pockets, you will answer for every dollar stolen.” According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Mark Loftis, 39, of Cushing, paid more than $1 million to marketers who worked with call centers to persuade elderly and disabled Americans to provide their personal information, including their health insurance information. Loftis and his co-conspirators then used that information to obtain signed orders for orthotic braces and CGMs that were generated by telemedicine doctors and nurse practitioners who never examined, and often never spoke, to the patients. Loftis and his co-conspirators used these orders to bill federal health care programs. Loftis also concealed a conspirator’s management role in his company and his billing of claims generated by other unenrolled medical suppliers. In total, Loftis obtained more than $8 million from the false and fraudulent claims. Loftis continued the scheme for three years despite receiving a steady stream of complaints from beneficiaries and family members of beneficiaries who reported that their elderly parents suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, making them especially vulnerable to the sales tactics of Loftis’s conspirators. The jury convicted Loftis of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 7, 2026, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.