WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Florida man pleaded guilty on November 13, 2026, to a $42 million fraud on Medicare involving false claims for durable medical equipment and cancer genetic testing, and to fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program loan, the Justice Department announced.
Read the U.S. Department of Justice release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/florida-man-pleads-guilty-42m-durable-medical-equipment-and-cancer-genetic-testing-fraud
The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division, according to the release.
Chad Monroe, 48, of Tarpon Springs, Florida, is the defendant named in the release.
Monroe pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of wire fraud, officials reported.
False Braces, Hidden Ownership, and Telemedicine Kickbacks
According to court documents and statements made in court, Monroe conspired with others to submit fraudulent claims for durable medical equipment, such as knee, wrist, ankle and back braces, and cancer genetic testing that Medicare beneficiaries did not want or need.
Monroe and his co-conspirators opened three durable medical equipment companies, Maksix Medical Products Inc., Orthotech Atlanta, LLC, and 1st Choice Medical Supply LLC, according to the release.
The companies were used to submit over $26 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans, and TRICARE, officials reported.
Monroe directed co-conspirators to lie on Medicare enrollment documents to hide his ownership of and role at the companies, according to the release.
To generate doctors' orders for the equipment and genetic testing, Monroe paid purported telemedicine companies illegal kickbacks, officials reported.
Genetic Testing Orders, $15 Million in Kickbacks, and a PPP Loan
Through his company Health and Life Networking LLC, Monroe sold doctors' orders for genetic testing to co-conspirator laboratories, according to the release.
Those laboratories paid him over $15 million in illegal kickbacks, officials reported.
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Monroe also directed a co-conspirator to submit a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan for over $30,000, according to the release.
In that application, Monroe and his co-conspirator lied about, among other things, the ownership of 1st Choice Medical Supply LLC to qualify for the loan, officials reported.
A 47-Foot Yacht, a Cadillac Escalade, and Sentencing Ahead
Monroe used proceeds of the scheme to fund a lavish lifestyle, including purchasing a 47-foot yacht valued at over $600,000 called "The Rogue Shark," a Cadillac Escalade, and other luxury vehicles, according to the release.
In connection with the charges, the government seized the yacht and more than $1 million, officials reported.
A sentencing date has not been set, according to the release.
Monroe faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the health care fraud conspiracy and 30 years in prison on the wire fraud charge, officials reported.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, according to the release.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and IRS Criminal Investigation, officials reported.
Assistant Deputy Chief Catherine Wagner, Deputy Chief D. Keith Clouser, and Trial Attorney Paul J. Koob of the National Fraud Enforcement Division's Health Care Fraud Section are prosecuting the case, according to the release.
The release also described the Justice Department's Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, which the department said is comprised of nine strike forces operating in federal districts across the country and has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007.
More information about the Health Care Fraud Section is available at https://www.justice.gov/fraud/health-care-fraud-section, according to the release.
Sources
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, Official Press Release No. 26-1358, November 13, 2026: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/florida-man-pleads-guilty-42m-durable-medical-equipment-and-cancer-genetic-testing-fraud