Medicare fraudster Herbert Kimble sentenced to 20 years after two-year flight
The former telemedicine executive must also pay over $199 million in restitution and forfeit nearly $195 million in profits.
By Maya Morris ·
Working families and federal taxpayers will receive more than $199 million in restitution from Herbert Kimble, who was sentenced Monday in Columbia, South Carolina. The 20-year prison term includes three years of supervised release. Kimble is not eligible for parole.
Kimble pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, violate the anti-kickback statute, and defraud the United States. The scheme involved offshore call centers that targeted elderly Medicare beneficiaries. Operators recruited patients to use telemedicine services for back, shoulder, wrist, and knee braces. Kimble paid kickbacks to telemedicine companies for signed prescriptions and then sold those orders to equipment suppliers who billed the government.
Court filings estimate the intended loss at more than $400 million. Kimble personally gained more than $195 million. He cooperated with investigators during Operation Brace Yourself but missed three court dates in fall 2024. He fled to the Philippines and remained a fugitive for nearly two years.
The FBI added Kimble to its Most Wanted Fraudsters list in June 2026. Agents apprehended him in the Philippines days later and returned him to the United States. He pleaded guilty to three counts of failure to appear as part of the 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown.
Bryan Stirling, U.S. attorney for the District of South Carolina, stated that the sentence reflects the gravity of the offense. Stirling said Kimble orchestrated one of the largest international healthcare fraud schemes in U.S. history and that the ruling reinforces the Justice Department's commitment to prosecuting those who steal from taxpayers.
Kimble is currently incarcerated. He must pay the court-ordered restitution to Medicare and forfeit the specified amount in ill-gotten gains.
Source: WBTV
