Texas man sentenced to 12.5 years after $61.5 million braces and genetic-test telemarketing scheme
Robert "Bobby" Leon Smith III, 50, of Archer City, Texas, pleaded guilty four days into a jury trial in March 2025 to a $61.5 million health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy. Deceptive telemarketing, using an offshore call center in the Philippines, targeted Medicare beneficiaries nationwide and led to thousands of orthotic braces, foot baths and genetic tests they did not need being sent. Smith's seven durable medical equipment companies in Florida, Texas and Maryland billed Medicare for the braces and foot baths. He absconded before sentencing and was at large for more than a month before the US Marshals Service apprehended him. He was sentenced to 150 months in prison, ordered to pay $30,158,608.25 in restitution and to forfeit $9,215,225 and real estate in Texas.
- Year
- 2026
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $30.2 million
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Medicare brace and medical equipment fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-19
The facts, as recorded
- Smith owned seven durable medical equipment supply companies in Florida, Texas and Maryland, and used a Texas-based marketing company for telemarketing.
- The scheme was a $61.5 million health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, and deceptive telemarketing targeting Medicare beneficiaries nationwide led to thousands of unneeded items being sent.
- The products were orthotic braces, foot baths and genetic tests. Smith's companies billed Medicare for braces and foot baths that beneficiaries did not need.
- The telemarketing used an offshore call center in the Philippines.
- Smith obtained doctors' orders by paying kickbacks and bribes to illegitimate telemedicine companies, then sold those orders to other suppliers who used them to submit false claims.
- A former business partner testified that the group later used fake doctors' orders carrying the forged signatures of unaware doctors.
- Recordings played at trial captured Smith pressuring beneficiaries who had protested that they did not need or want the items, and calling unsold orders trash and junk.
- Four days into a jury trial Smith pleaded guilty in March 2025. He then absconded and failed to appear for sentencing, and was at large for over a month before the US Marshals Service apprehended him.
- He was sentenced to 150 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, ordered to pay $30,158,608.25 in restitution, and to forfeit $9,215,225 and real estate in Texas. The Justice Department announced the sentence on March 27, 2026.
Why this case matters
It shows the supply side of the scheme as a market. Smith did not only bill Medicare for braces. According to the Justice Department, he bought doctors’ orders from illegitimate telemedicine companies and sold orders on to other suppliers who used them to bill. In that account, the doctors’ orders themselves changed hands.
What the recordings showed
The release describes recordings played at trial. The Justice Department says they captured Smith pressuring beneficiaries who had protested that they did not need or want the items, and calling unsold orders trash and junk.
The caveat
Smith pleaded guilty and has been sentenced, so the conduct above is taken from the Justice Department’s account of a case that ended in a conviction on his own plea. The release does not give the dates of the scheme, so this page does not either. It reports the sentence as announced on March 27, 2026, and the amounts the court ordered, and it does not describe the beneficiaries, who are not named in the release.
Sources
- Texas Fugitive Apprehended and Sentenced to Over 12 Years in Prison for $61M Telemarketing Fraud Scheme Targeting Medicare Beneficiaries. US Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. Accessed 2026-10-19. Supports: Every fact above: Smith's seven supply companies and marketing company, the $61.5 million conspiracy, the products and the offshore call center, the purchased and resold doctors' orders and the forged-signature testimony, the trial recordings, the March 2025 plea, the flight and arrest, the 150-month sentence, restitution and forfeiture, and the March 27, 2026 announcement.