Laron Evans liked his first healthcare fraud scheme so much that he did it a second time, while on release pending trial for his first fraud indictment. It was a guilty pleasure that he couldn’t get enough of the first time. Although, do fraudsters ever feel guilty?
Beginning in 2018, Evans illegally obtained the Personal Identification Information (PII) of 57 people. Using that stolen data, he pretended they were employees of an imaginary company and sent the identities to a third-party administrator (TPA) for self-funded health plans. The TPA created individualized HSA accounts, and corresponding debit cards, for all 57 fake employees and had even advanced and credited funds to each HSA account. The debit cards were mailed to addresses controlled by Evans, who spent the debit cards in various stores on everything but HSA eligible expenses. In the meantime, the TPA learned that there was no money in the bank account that Evans had identified for his fake company. And they called the authorities. On February 13, 2019, Evans was indicted for health fraud but was granted release on bond pending trial.
While waiting for that court date, Evans re-executed his healthcare fraud scheme. Falsely representing himself as a manager of a business, Evans submitted stolen identities to a different TPA using fake employee information along with bank account information for drawing reimbursement. When the TPA advance funded the HSA debit cards, Evans again spent the fraudulently gained proceeds in various stores on everything but HSA eligible expenses. During which this TPA also learned that there was no money in the bank account that Evans had identified for his fake company.
Evans may have liked his healthcare fraud scheme so much that he did it not once but twice. But this time, there is no opportunity to scheme for a third time. On January 16, 2025, Evans was sentenced to 32 years in prison.
Great job by Federal Bureau of Investigation on this case.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Vicksburg man sentenced to 32 years on multiple charges in health care fraud case” published by Dark Horse Press on January 17, 2025.
A Vicksburg man was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate to 32 years in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and health care fraud; money laundering; aggravated identity theft; mail fraud; and contempt of court. He was also ordered to pay $1,917,231.26 in restitution to the victims in the case.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Laron Evans conspired with co-defendant Travious Quinshad Jackson and others to execute a health care fraud scheme involving Health Savings Accounts using interstate wire communications and the U.S. postal system.
