A Texas businessman will spend more than seven years in federal prison for orchestrating a $59.9 million Medicare fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary orthotic braces, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Patrick Cassells, 65, of Fulshear, Texas, received a 90-month prison sentence Friday for his role in the conspiracy that defrauded Medicare of over $27 million through false claims for knee, back, shoulder and wrist braces, according to court documents.

Cassells owned and operated three durable medical equipment companies and concealed his ownership of one company by falsely identifying another individual as the sole owner and manager in a Medicare enrollment application, according to the Justice Department. The scheme involved paying illegal kickbacks to co-conspirators who provided signed doctors’ orders and paperwork necessary to bill Medicare for orthotic braces.

The kickbacks were disguised as payments for “leads” and “marketing” services, according to court documents. Cassells submitted Medicare claims based on doctors’ orders that were issued without physicians examining or treating patients, falsely representing that the braces were medically necessary.

Through his three companies, Cassells caused over $59.9 million in fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medicare, which paid out more than $27 million, according to the Justice Department. Cassells used proceeds from the fraud to purchase personal vehicles and vehicles he intended to export to Nigeria, according to court documents.

In June 2024, Cassells pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, according to the Justice Department.

Beyond the prison sentence, U.S. District Court ordered Cassells to pay $25,402,614.97 in restitution and forfeiture. He must also forfeit four vehicles and three properties in the Houston area, according to the Justice Department.

The case highlights ongoing federal efforts to combat healthcare fraud through coordinated investigations. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General’s Dallas Region, the FBI’s Houston Field Office, and the Texas Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case, according to the Justice Department.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas, and other federal and state officials announced the sentence.

The prosecution was handled by Acting Assistant Chief Catherine Wagner and Trial Attorney Adam Tisdall of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristine Rollinson for the Southern District of Texas, according to the Justice Department.

The case was prosecuted under the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, which the Justice Department’s Fraud Section leads. Since March 2007, the program has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion, according to the Justice Department.

The strike force program currently operates eight units in federal districts across the country, targeting healthcare fraud schemes that cost taxpayers billions annually. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services works with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General to hold providers accountable for healthcare fraud involvement, according to the Justice Department.

The Cassells case demonstrates the significant financial penalties and prison time defendants face for Medicare fraud schemes. The nearly $60 million in false claims represents one of the larger durable medical equipment fraud cases prosecuted in recent years, underscoring the scope of fraudulent billing in the healthcare industry.