A Louisiana man has admitted guilt in a scheme involving fraudulent claims to Medicare for unnecessary medical equipment. Michael L. Riggins, 62, from West Monroe, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. As the owner of Bluewater Healthcare, a durable medical equipment supply company, Riggins engaged in fraudulent activities from 2018 to 2023.
Court documents reveal that Riggins paid for doctors’ orders for unnecessary equipment and deceived doctors into signing off on these orders. Despite numerous complaints about the fraudulent activity, he submitted over $3.8 million in false claims and received more than $1.8 million in reimbursements.
Riggins is set to be sentenced on October 2, 2025, with a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
The announcement was made by Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook for the Western District of Louisiana; and Deputy Inspector General Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
Trial Attorneys Samantha Usher and Kelly Z. Walters from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin McCoy are handling the prosecution while HHS-OIG is conducting the investigation.
The Fraud Section spearheads efforts against health care fraud through its Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program which has charged over 5,800 defendants since March 2007 with fraudulent billing amounting to more than $30 billion.
More details can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
