Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson has announced criminal charges against four individuals as part of the Department of Justice’s 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. The charges, filed in federal court, are related to schemes allegedly designed to defraud Medicare and other government programs.
Simpson stated, “The charges announced yesterday reinforce the combined missions of the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and our law enforcement partners, to aggressively, and relentlessly, pursue those perpetrators who attempt to victimize our nation’s citizens.”
Attorney General Pamela Bondi remarked on the significance of this operation: “This record-setting Health Care Fraud Takedown delivers justice to criminal actors who prey upon our most vulnerable citizens and steal from hardworking American taxpayers.”
The nationwide action resulted in charges against 324 defendants involved in health care fraud and illegal drug diversion schemes amounting to over $14.6 billion in alleged false billings. Authorities seized more than $245 million in cash and assets.
Among those charged in the Eastern District of Louisiana are Leland Roberts from Georgia, accused of a scheme involving $30 million worth of fraudulent genetic testing claims; Dr. Marion Lee from Georgia, linked to a similar scheme totaling approximately $24 million; Steven D. Peyroux from Georgia, implicated in billing Medicare for unrequested COVID-19 tests valued at around $12.1 million; and Zoe Francis from Louisiana, charged with embezzling funds from a non-profit organization receiving federal grants.
Juliet T. Hodgkins from HHS-OIG emphasized the scale and impact: “The scale of this Takedown is unprecedented… Individuals who attempt to steal from the federal health care system and put vulnerable patients at risk will be held accountable.”
Special Agent Jonathan Tapp added that such actions against patient reliance on government healthcare were unacceptable: “Stealing from the patients who rely on our government to provide healthcare is despicable.”
Multiple strike forces across various states participated in prosecuting these cases with support from data analytics teams within the Health Care Fraud Unit.
Descriptions of each case can be found online through official channels. It is important to note that an information or indictment is merely an allegation until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
