Kansas software CEO gets 19 years for $1bn telemedicine Medicare fraud scheme

DOJ sentencing release covering the conclusion of a telemedicine fraud case affecting over 346,000 Medicare beneficiaries. Relevant to compliance teams at telehealth platforms, DME suppliers and pharmacies screening for kickback and billing integrity risk, and to health insurers refining audit controls against sham doctors' orders.

• Brett Blackman, 43, of Johnson County, Kansas, was sentenced to 19 years in prison after a 23-day jury trial ending in April 2026.
• DME suppliers and pharmacies paying kickbacks billed Medicare and other insurers more than $1 billion, of which insurers paid out more than $450 million.
• Medicare was fraudulently billed for orthotic braces for more than 346,000 beneficiaries, with at least 21 orthotics billed for over 1,200 of them.
• Co-defendant Gary Cox was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December 2025.
• Blackman's restitution and forfeiture obligations will be determined by the court at a later date.

Executive summary

The Justice Department announced that Brett Blackman, 43, of Johnson County, Kansas, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for operating a telemedicine fraud scheme that defrauded Medicare and other federal health care benefit programs of more than $1 billion.…

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