Two men from South Florida have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a $34.8 million health care fraud conspiracy involving Medicare. Kenneth Charles Kessler III, of Miami, received a sentence of 33 months, while Michael Andrew Gomez, of Miramar, was sentenced to 24 months.

Both men pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Kessler and Gomez owned and operated seven durable medical equipment supply companies based in Florida. Through these companies, they submitted millions of dollars in false claims to Medicare for thousands of orthotic braces sent to beneficiaries who did not need or request them.

The scheme involved the following actions:

• Paying illegal kickbacks and bribes to obtain fraudulent signed doctor's orders.
• Using those orders to ship braces to various Medicare beneficiaries across the United States.
• Shuffling billing among several companies to avoid payment suspensions.

Authorities stated that Kessler profited more than $1.4 million, while Gomez profited more than $2.3 million.

“These fraudsters billed Medicare $34.8 million for braces that patients didn’t need and didn’t request — and now they’re paying the price,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division.