Telemarketer to serve four years in prison for health care fraud

TAMPA — Samuel Friedman, owner and operator of SKF Enterprises LLC, a telemarketing firm, has been sentenced to four years in prison for a health care sales scheme that defrauded Medicare-aged people and involved bribes paid to doctors. 

According to a press release, Friedman, 45, pleaded guilty June 16. In addition to prison, the Land O’ Lakes resident was ordered to pay $3.42 million in restitution to victims and forfeit $475,000 in real estate and cash that he obtained via the scheme, the release from the U.S. Attorney's Office adds.  

SKF Enterprises, authorities contended, would upsell durable medical equipment (DME) and cancer genetic (CGx) testing for Medicare beneficiaries. Friedman then bribed numerous doctors, through fraudulent “telemedicine” companies, to sign and approve thousands of DME and CGx-testing orders, regardless of medical necessity, in exchange for kickbacks, officials say.  

Once signed by doctors, the release states, Friedman sold the prescriptions to client-conspirators for submission to Medicare and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Civilian Health and Medical Program for reimbursement. Conspirators paid SKF more than $3.4 million, officials alleged. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the FBI, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the criminal investigation division of the IRS investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Fiore prosecuted it.