Florida Felon Admits Role in Multi-Million Dollar Health Care Kickback Scheme After Pleading Guilty to COVID-19 Fraud and Unlawfully Possessing Firearms

MIAMI – On Feb. 8, a Florida man admitted his role in a multimillion-dollar durable medical equipment (DME) kickback scheme, after previously pleading guilty to carrying out a COVID-19 fraud scheme and being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

Kareem Memon, 34, of Coral Springs, Florida, pleaded guilty, before U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal in the Southern District of Florida, to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (Case No. 24-cr-60004).

According to documents filed in the health care fraud case and statements made in court, Memon and his conspirators owned and operated marketing call centers and telemedicine companies through which they obtained doctors’ orders for DME for Medicare beneficiaries without regard to medical necessity. Memon and his conspirators provided doctors’ orders in exchange for bribes from DME companies that provided the braces to Medicare beneficiaries.  Memon and his conspirators caused losses to Medicare in excess of $11 million.

On Sept. 21, 2023, Memon pled guilty to wire fraud, money laundering, and felon in possession charges in a separate case before Judge Singhal (Case No. 23-cr-80068).  According to documents in the wire fraud case and statements made in court, Memon submitted fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $451,000 in forgivable Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and used those funds for personal gains.  Moreover, at the time of Memon’s arrest he was a convicted felon and illegally possessed 12 firearms and ammunition.

Memon is scheduled to be sentenced in the two cases on March 26, 2024. The health care fraud conspiracy charge is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison and the kickback conspiracy charge is punishable by a maximum of five years in prison. The wire fraud charge is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison, the money laundering charge is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison, and the felon in possession charge is punishable by a maximum of 15 years in prison. The charges are also punishable by a fine.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida; Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna for the District of New Jersey (for the health care fraud matter); Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy of the FBI, Newark Field Office, made the announcement.

FBI West Palm Beach and Newark Field Offices investigated the cases. Invaluable assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General; U.S. Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robin W. Waugh for the Southern District of Florida and Matthew Specht for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting these cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Pastor for the Southern District of Florida is handling asset forfeiture.

In May 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case numbers 23-cr-80068 and 24-cr-60004.

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