Florida nursing assistant sentenced to 9 years in $11.4M Medicare fraud scheme

A Florida nursing assistant has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar health care fraud scheme that targeted hundreds of Medicare beneficiaries across the United States.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Christian “Chris” Cruz, 45, of Pompano Beach, Florida, was sentenced on April 13, 2026, to nine years in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Cruz was also ordered to pay $3,712,345.70 in restitution and $724,871 in forfeiture.

Prosecutors said Cruz owned and operated a durable medical equipment supplier in Florida that submitted millions of dollars in false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary orthotic braces. The fraudulent scheme totaled approximately $11.4 million.

According to court documents and trial evidence, Cruz and a co-conspirator paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to obtain signed doctors’ orders. These orders were then used to ship orthotic braces to Medicare beneficiaries nationwide, including individuals who neither requested nor needed the equipment. The company then billed Medicare for reimbursement.

Authorities also said Cruz falsely claimed he was the sole owner of the company, concealing the involvement of his co-conspirator, who is a convicted felon. Prosecutors noted that Medicare would not have approved the company’s enrollment had it known of the co-conspirator’s involvement. The co-conspirator has been charged but remains at large.

Investigators further revealed that Cruz received several hundred thousand dollars from the scheme, which he deposited into his personal bank account. He frequently withdrew cash on consecutive days at different bank branches in South Florida, often in amounts just under the $10,000 reporting threshold.

“Medical professionals have a trusted role in American society, and when they betray that trust and engage in fraud, the Justice Department will hold them fully accountable,” said Colin M. McDonald, Assistant Attorney General of the National Fraud Enforcement Division.

“This was a deliberate health care fraud scheme built on lies, bribes, and abuse of the Medicare system,” said Jason A. Reding Quiñones, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “The defendant helped obtain signed doctors’ orders through illegal kickbacks, shipped braces people did not need, and then billed the government for more than $11.4 million in fraudulent claims. He also concealed the true ownership of the company and structured cash withdrawals to hide the proceeds. Yesterday’s sentence of nine years, along with restitution and financial penalties, sends a simple message: fraud does not pay. If you steal from Medicare, you will go to prison and you will be made to pay that money back.”

Scott J. Lampert, Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, said the defendant abused trust placed in health care providers.

“By misusing Medicare beneficiaries’ information to enrich himself, this defendant betrayed the trust placed in health care providers,” Lampert said. “This sentence demonstrates how the strength of HHS-OIG partnerships with fellow law enforcement agencies allows us to successfully detect and disrupt such complex health care fraud schemes and reinforces that those who attempt to exploit federal health care programs will face serious consequences.”

After a six-day trial in January 2026, a federal jury convicted Cruz of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, four counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to make false statements relating to health care matters, and three counts of structuring.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

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