Two Florida executives were sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison for their roles in a massive years-long fraud scheme to steal $233 million from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) program.The two executives, 47-year-old Cory Lloyd and 43-year-old Steven Strong, were convicted in November of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. Strong was also convicted of two counts of money laundering.
The two men were each sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $180.6 million in restitution.
“Preying upon medically compromised consumers to rob hundreds of millions from taxpayer-funded programs is evil and unforgivable,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “Fraud schemes like this rob citizens and shake faith in our institutions — today’s sentencing is the latest example of this DOJ’s commitment to fighting fraud nationwide.”
The Justice Department said Lloyd and Strong targeted vulnerable, low-income individuals experiencing homelessness, unemployment, and mental health and substance abuse disorders, and sometimes offered bribes to induce victims to enroll in subsidized ACA plans, even when the men knew doing so would cost the victims their existing insurance coverage.
The two men then used money from the scheme to purchase luxury homes, including a waterfront home in the Florida Keys, an 80-foot yacht and a Tesla.
“These defendants didn’t just commit fraud; they built a business model around exploiting people at their most vulnerable,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. “They targeted vulnerable individuals in the community, manipulated federal health programs for profit, and put victims at risk of losing critical medical care so they could cash in.
“Stealing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars while endangering lives is as callous as it gets,” he continued. “The FBI and our partners will continue to track down and hold accountable anyone who treats vulnerable Americans as a payday.”
A third defendant in the case, Dafud Iza, previously pleaded guilty to major fraud against the U.S. and was sentenced to 35 months in prison for his involvement.
Trending
- Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg Accidentally Smacks Iowa Assistant After Taking Swipe At Trolling Hawkeyes Fan
- Tax War Erupts Between Mamdani And Hochul
- Carrie Underwood Booed, Political Debate Flares
- Christ Is King, but Marriage Is Nothing?
- Why Exactly Did They Destroy the Border?
- What Is White Culture?
- Medical Examiner Rules ‘Pulp Fiction’ Actor Peter Greene’s Death Accidental
- Secret Airlift Moved Thousands of ISIS Fighters Before Chaos Hit