VA Insider and Clinic CEO Sentenced in $14M Kickback Scheme

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Department of Veterans Affairs employee and the chief executive of a Florida clinic were sentenced on November 5, 2026, for a kickback scheme that steered veterans to the clinic and billed the VA more than $14 million in fraudulent claims, the Justice Department announced.

Read the Justice Department release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ceo-and-va-employee-sentenced-paying-and-receiving-illegal-health-care-kickbacks-and-bribes

The Kickbacks, The Clinic, The Patients

Heriberto Rivera, 43, of Orlando, Florida, was the chief executive officer of Family Integrative Medicine of Orlando, LLC, known as FIMO, the release stated.

Rivera paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to Laurent Cassagnol, 43, also of Orlando, an Advanced Medical Support Assistant for the VA Community Care Program, the release stated.

In exchange, Cassagnol used his position with the VA to steer veterans and their families who were patients of the program to FIMO for acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments and other holistic medical services, the release stated.

Cassagnol served as a key point of contact between veterans and the VA health care system, and his abuse of that role took advantage of veterans and their families who rely on the VA for medical care, the release stated.

The Sentences, The Forfeitures, The Fraud Total

Rivera was sentenced to 13 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $515,542, the release stated.

Cassagnol was sentenced to 6 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $175,172, the release stated.

Both men had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks and bribes, according to the Justice Department.

As a result of the scheme, more than $14 million in fraudulent claims were submitted to the VA and the VA Community Care Program, of which more than $11 million was paid, the release stated.

The Investigation, The Announcement, The Stakes

The investigation began with a complaint made to the VA Office of Inspector General fraud hotline, the release stated.

The FBI Tampa Field Office and the VA Office of Inspector General investigated the case, the release stated.

The sentencings were announced by Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division, Special Agent in Charge Rodney E. Crawford of the FBI Tampa Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Josh Lollar of the VA Office of Inspector General Southeast Field Office, the release stated.

Trial Attorneys Jody King and Angela Benoit of the Fraud Division's Health Care Fraud Section are prosecuting the case, the release stated.

The Justice Department's Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, made up of nine strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007, the release stated.

The case was brought by the Justice Department's Fraud Division, created on April 7 to investigate and prosecute fraud against the American people, the release stated.

Both men will now serve their prison terms and forfeit the proceeds identified by the court.

Suspected fraud against VA programs can be reported to the VA Office of Inspector General fraud hotline.

Sources

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, "CEO and VA Employee Sentenced for Paying and Receiving Illegal Health Care Kickbacks and Bribes," November 5, 2026: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ceo-and-va-employee-sentenced-paying-and-receiving-illegal-health-care-kickbacks-and-bribes