A healthcare software company CEO has been found guilty of defrauding American taxpayers of approximately $1 billion in a scheme described by prosecutors as 'cold, calculated' and 'industrial-scale theft.' Brett Blackman, 42, was convicted on Wednesday for orchestrating a massive fraud that targeted Medicare beneficiaries with bogus prescriptions and unnecessary medical expenses between 2015 and 2020.
The Scheme
Blackman, the owner and CEO of HealthSplash, along with co-conspirators, aggressively targeted hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries to accept medically unnecessary products, including orthotic braces, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ stated that the operation stole more than $1 billion from American taxpayers, including hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, describing it as a 'cold, calculated, industrial-scale theft targeting the sick and elderly.'
Blackman, a Kansas native, used Power Mobility Doctor Rx, LLC, which was acquired by HealthSplash in 2017, to generate false and fraudulent doctor's orders for durable medical equipment and prescriptions. Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division accused Blackman of orchestrating a 'massive telemarketing scheme' that utilized foreign call centers and spam mailers to target senior citizens and defraud government health care benefits programs.
The indictment obtained by the Daily Mail stated that beneficiaries were targeted to provide personally identifiable information and accept braces, pain creams, and other items through misleading mailers, television advertisements, and calls from offshore call centers. The DOJ described the scheme as one of the most 'egregious fraud schemes in Florida history,' noting that doctors were paid to sign orders and prescriptions without any meaningful interaction with patients, or in some cases, no interaction at all.
Execution and Concealment
Blackman and his co-conspirators connected pharmacies, durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers, and marketers with telemedicine companies that would accept illegal kickbacks and bribes in exchange for signed doctors' orders. They took a cut for themselves in exchange for the referrals. The DME suppliers and pharmacies that paid illegal kickbacks billed Medicare and other insurers for more than $1 billion, with insurers paying over $450 million based on these claims.
According to evidence presented at trial, Blackman and his co-conspirators concealed the scheme through sham contracts and by manipulating doctors' orders to avoid Medicare audits. Special Agent in Charge Jason Sargenski of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General's Defense Criminal Investigative Service stated, 'Fraud of this magnitude drains vital resources and jeopardizes the care promised to our service members, retirees and their families.'
Conviction and Sentencing
Blackman was convicted 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 and make false statements in connection with health care matters. He faces at least 20 years in prison. His co-conspirator, 79-year-old Gary Cox, was convicted in an earlier trial and sentenced to 15 years behind bars. Cox was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, three counts of health care fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks, and conspiracy to defraud the United States and make false statements in connection with health care matters.
Blackman is scheduled to be sentenced on August 26, 2026, at 10 am, according to online records. The Daily Mail reached out to the National Fraud Enforcement Division, the Office of the Attorney General, Blackman's defense attorney Jenny Wilson, and attempted to contact Blackman's ex-wife for comment.
