Fugitive Healthcare Fraudster Gets 20 Years in Federal Prison

Herbert Kimble will spend the next two decades in federal prison for orchestrating a massive scheme that targeted Medicare beneficiaries. The sentencing took place in Columbia, South Carolina, on Monday. Kimble received a 20-year prison term along with three years of supervised release.

The financial burden on Kimble is substantial. He must pay more than $199 million in restitution to the Medicare program. He is also required to forfeit over $195 million in assets. Federal prosecutors described these amounts as ill-gotten gains derived from his illegal operations.

Kimble built his network using offshore call centers. These centers called elderly Medicare beneficiaries to recruit them for the program. He paid kickbacks to telemedicine companies for signed prescriptions. He then sold those orders to medical equipment firms that billed Medicare for back, shoulder, wrist, and knee braces. Court filings estimate the intended loss to the government at more than $400 million. Kimble personally kept more than $195 million from the scheme.

After pleading guilty in 2019, Kimble cooperated with investigators in an initiative called Operation Brace Yourself. His status changed in the fall of 2024 when he missed three scheduled court dates. He fled to the Philippines and stayed there as a fugitive for nearly two years. In June, the FBI added his name to its Most Wanted Fraudsters list. Agents captured him in the Philippines days later and brought him back to the United States. He subsequently pleaded guilty to three counts of failure to appear.

Bryan Stirling, the 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 the nation’s history. The sentence reinforces the Department of Justice’s commitment to prosecute those who steal from American taxpayers. Kimble is not eligible for parole during his incarceration.