A federal jury has convicted a former New York Life financial advisor of taking part in a scheme to defraud Medicare by submitting thousands of false claims, Financial Advisor reports.
52-year-old Furman Alexander Ford, who was based in Raleigh, North Carolina, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Justice Department said Ford and his co-conspirator, Jimmy Guess, orchestrated a scheme to submit over 5,000 false claims to Medicare for mental health services that were never provided to about 145 Medicare beneficiaries between October 2018 and February 2020.
“The defendant in this case preyed upon the most vulnerable in our society—the elderly, the poor, and the disabled,” said Michael Easley, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “We will continue to work tirelessly to bring such offenders to justice.”
Ford carried out several fraud schemes to obtain Medicare information from the beneficiaries, including offering free food in exchange for Medicare information of low-income elderly parishioners at a North Carolina church.
Guess had previously pleaded guilty to fraud charges for his role in the scheme. Ford will face up to 52 years in prison when he is sentenced on the charges in January. He was also sentenced on a previous conviction in February after he was found guilty of stealing $1.3 million from a 72-year-old client and using the money for personal expenses, including a BMW, Rolex watches, a cruise to the Bahamas, and child support.
Financial advisor misconduct takes many forms and can result in losses that cost investors all or part of hard-earned savings that took years to accumulate. The attorneys at Lewitas Hyman are uniquely qualified to represent individual investors in investment-related claims against financial professionals and their firms. If you have suffered investment losses as a result of misconduct by your financial professional or their firms, contact Lewitas Hyman at (888) 655-6002 or through our online contact form for a free consultation.
