A federal jury in South Florida has convicted Brett Blackman, 42, founder and owner of healthcare software company HealthSplash, for orchestrating one of the largest Medicare fraud schemes in the state’s history—a billion-dollar operation built on fake doctors’ orders, illegal kickbacks, and systematic targeting of hundreds of thousands of sick and elderly Americans.
Blackman was found guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks, and conspiracy to defraud the United States through false statements in healthcare matters. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche condemned the scheme as “industrial-scale theft targeting the sick and elderly,” declaring the Department of Justice had “crushed one of the most egregious fraud schemes in Florida history.”
The DOJ detailed how Blackman controlled HealthSplash, which operated an internet platform called Power Mobility Doctor Rx, LLC—also known as DMERx. This platform generated fraudulent doctors’ orders for durable medical equipment and bogus prescriptions. Blackman’s network aggressively pressured hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries to accept medically unnecessary orthotic braces and other items. Purported telemedicine doctors signed false prescription orders without meaningful patient interaction or actual examination, enabling suppliers to bill Medicare and other insurers. Durable medical equipment providers and pharmacies paid illegal kickbacks, resulting in over $1 billion billed to Medicare and other programs—$450 million of which was actually paid out based on the fraudulent claims. A co-defendant, Gary Cox, previously received a 15-year federal prison sentence.
Blackman faces up to 20 years in prison for health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy alone, plus five years per each of two additional conspiracy counts. Sentencing is scheduled for August 26, 2026.
This conviction occurs amid a broader Trump administration crackdown on Medicare fraud. Just one day before the verdict, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a six-month nationwide moratorium on new Medicare enrollment for hospice and home health agencies—a measure directly coordinated with Vice President JD Vance’s Anti-Fraud Task Force. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz cited “systemic and deeply troubling fraud” in these sectors, including exploitation of vulnerable patients and theft of taxpayer funds. Recent actions in Los Angeles suspended payments to 773 hospices and 23 home health agencies suspected of fraud—representing $70 million in frozen funds. With three separate moratoria now active, CMS declared it has taken “some of the most significant fraud prevention actions in its history.”
The case underscores a long-standing pattern of Medicare fraud treated as an acceptable cost of doing business in Washington—a reality that has diverted billions from sick and elderly Americans to criminal operations. The Trump administration is now treating such theft as organized crime, with federal prosecutors targeting perpetrators and CMS implementing rigorous safeguards to prevent new scammers from exploiting the system.