Serial entrepreneur, Jess Foote, was always looking for the next big thing while running his many businesses. Along with owning several medical supply companies in Florida, he owned a marketing agency in New Jersey. Now Foote’s marketing agency deemed success could be found by three fundamental categories: Identifying marketing opportunities that align with a business goal. Executing marketing strategies and tactics to reach that goal. And analyzing the performance of those marketing strategies. Foot identified that fraud was the opportunity that would align with his financial goals. And he used is medical supply companies to make it happen.
From December 2017 to March 2021, Foote conspired with overseas telemarking call centers, who targeted Medicare beneficiaries to persuade them to accept durable medical equipment, including orthotic braces, whether they needed it or not. Foote paid bribes and kickbacks to these telemedicine companies. Which in turn paid bribes and kickbacks to doctors, in exchange for doctor signed DME orders. Now that’s a marketing strategy any fraudster would be proud of.
The doctors approved the DME orders without having had any contact with the Medicare beneficiary and without making a bona fide assessment that the DME was medically necessary. The doctors’ orders were ultimately submitted to Foote’s DME companies. His DME companies submitted fraudulent claims for reimbursement to health care benefit programs including Medicare, TRICARE, and private insurance companies. No need to analyze the performance of Foote’s strategies. In total, Foote caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to health care benefit programs totaling more than $7.8 million.
Shout out to the Health and Human Services with shutting this scheme down.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Marketer pleads guilty to role in $7.8M fraud scheme” published by Beckers Hospital Review on August 22nd, 2024.
Jesse Foote, 58, of Fairfield, Conn., conspired with overseas telemarketing call centers, DME suppliers, telemedicine companies, and physicians to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare, Tricare, and private insurers, according to an Aug. 21 Justice Department news release. The scheme occurred from December 2017 to March 2021.
Mr. Foote controlled a marketing company that he used to purchase patient leads from the overseas telemarketing companies, which included information about Medicare and other beneficiaries and prewritten physician orders for DME, according to the release. The telemarketing call centers targeted Medicare beneficiaries and others with health insurance to persuade them to accept DME, including orthotic braces, regardless of medical necessity.
