Florida Woman Convicted in Massive Medicare Fraud Scheme

A federal jury in the Middle District of Florida has convicted Sophie Dufort, a 57-year-old resident of Gainesville, Florida, for her involvement in a Medicare fraud scheme that resulted in over $8. 6 million in fraudulent claims. The U.

S. Attorney's Office announced the conviction, highlighting Dufort's role as the owner and manager of several durable medical equipment (DME) companies.

According to the Justice Department, Dufort conspired with 70-year-old Paula Pirone of Ocala, Florida, and others to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for orthotic braces. These claims were based on fake prescriptions obtained through illegal means. The scheme involved purchasing prescriptions from marketing companies that used aggressive telemarketing tactics to gather Medicare beneficiaries' information. These companies then paid medical practitioners to sign prescriptions without evaluating patients or forged prescriptions using stolen doctor credentials.

The fraudulent prescriptions were sold to Dufort's DME companies, which then shipped the braces to Medicare beneficiaries. Despite the fact that these beneficiaries neither wanted nor needed the braces, and no doctor had examined them, Dufort and her co-conspirators billed Medicare for millions of dollars. The U.

S. Attorney's Office noted that the use of these braces could be "very dangerous" for the elderly Medicare population.

Dufort was convicted on multiple counts, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, two counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, and one count of offering and paying illegal kickbacks. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, 10 years for each health care fraud and kickback count, and 5 years for conspiracy to defraud the United States.

The investigation was conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hamilton and Trial Attorney Jody King of the Fraud Division’s Health Care Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

A sentencing hearing for Dufort is scheduled for January 2027. The court will determine her sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case is part of the Department of Justice’s broader efforts to combat health care fraud. Since 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program has charged over 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion. The DOJ's Fraud Division, announced on April 7, is focused on prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people, supporting a government-wide effort to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse in federal benefit programs.