BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A dozen people are facing federal charges in South Florida as part of a massive nationwide health care fraud takedown, with prosecutors saying the local schemes alone involved more than $4 billion in fraudulent claims. U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones announced the charges Thursday, tying them to a 2026 Department of Justice operation that targeted fake billing for durable medical equipment, skin substitutes and wound care products, lab testing, and mental health services across the country.
Among those charged locally is Laura Seiler-Anstett, 55, of Coral Springs, a medical biller and consultant accused of submitting roughly $58.3 million in bogus claims to Medicare for orthotic braces that were medically unnecessary and tied to illegal kickbacks. Prosecutors say Medicare actually paid out about $30 million on those claims before catching on. She was charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, along with health care fraud itself.
Also charged is Anthony Tursi, 39, of Boynton Beach, accused of running a call center that pushed Medicare beneficiaries into unnecessary genetic testing through deceptive telemarketing, then “doctor chased” physicians into signing off on the tests with misleading faxes. Prosecutors say Tursi’s scheme funneled roughly $62 million in fraudulent claims to laboratories.
The South Florida cases were part of a much larger sweep that resulted in charges against 455 defendants nationwide, including 90 doctors and other licensed medical professionals, in connection with more than $6.5 billion in false claims. Investigators also seized more than $182 million in cash, luxury vehicles and jewelry, and authorities tracked down fugitives as far away as Cyprus, Estonia and the Philippines. Locally, prosecutors said they seized more than $27 million tied to a dozen South Florida clinics accused of running “bust-out” schemes — billing Medicare for wound care products that patients never received.
Other South Florida defendants named in the announcement include Casilda Muniz Rodriguez of Hialeah, accused of setting up fraudulent wound care clinics that billed Medicare for more than $117 million; Ibrahim Hilmi of Miami, linked to a $3.76 billion durable medical equipment fraud scheme with money laundered overseas to Hong Kong; and several South Florida mental health clinic operators accused of falsifying attendance records for therapy patients who were paid kickbacks to enroll. Federal officials say the cases reflect a broader push to use data analytics to catch fraudulent billing before taxpayer money goes out the door.
Sign up for the BocaNewsNow.com nightly newsletter and breaking news email alerts. Completely free. Unsubscribe at any time.
Follow us on Google News
