FLORIDA NURSING ASSISTANT SENTENCED TO 9 YEARS IN $11.4M MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEME INVOLVING UNNEEDED ORTHOTIC BRACES

A Florida nursing assistant has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison following his role in a large-scale health care fraud operation that targeted Medicare beneficiaries across the United States.

According to court records and trial evidence, Christian “Chris” Cruz, 45, of Pompano Beach, Florida, owned and operated a durable medical equipment (DME) company through which millions of dollars in false claims were submitted to Medicare. The scheme involved distributing orthotic braces to beneficiaries who did not request or require them and billing Medicare as if the equipment had been legitimately prescribed.

The operation depended on illegally obtained physicians’ orders. Cruz and a co-conspirator paid kickbacks and bribes in exchange for signed medical documentation. These orders were then used to justify the shipment of braces nationwide and to support reimbursement claims submitted to Medicare under false pretenses.

Evidence presented at trial established that Cruz misrepresented the ownership of the company during the Medicare enrollment process. He claimed to be the sole owner while concealing the involvement of a co-conspirator with a prior felony conviction. This omission was material, as Medicare regulations would have barred the company from participation had the true ownership been disclosed. The co-conspirator has been charged and remains at large.

Financial records showed that Cruz received several hundred thousand dollars in proceeds from the scheme through his personal bank accounts. He conducted repeated cash withdrawals across multiple South Florida bank branches, frequently structuring transactions below the $10,000 federal reporting threshold. The pattern of withdrawals indicated deliberate attempts to evade financial reporting requirements.

Following a six-day trial in January 2026, a federal jury convicted Cruz of multiple offenses, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, substantive health care fraud counts, conspiracy to defraud the United States and make false statements related to health care matters, and structuring financial transactions.

The court imposed a sentence of 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 tied to the proceeds of the fraudulent activity.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). Prosecution was carried out by Trial Attorney Owen Dunn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sterling Paulson for the Southern District of Florida.

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