Telemarketing operators sentenced after recruiting Medicare patients for cancer genetic tests
Paul Wexler, 56, of Spring, Texas and Paul Bleignier, 64, of Seminole, Florida ran a telemarketing company that recruited Medicare beneficiaries for cancer genetic testing that was medically unnecessary, in exchange for kickbacks. About $17.3 million was billed to Medicare and about $5.2 million paid. Wexler was sentenced in November 2025 to four years in prison, and Bleignier to two years for his leadership role plus a concurrent two-year term for hiding his ownership of a clinical laboratory he enrolled in Medicare while his criminal case was pending. Each was ordered to pay $5.2 million in restitution and $1.2 million in forfeiture.
- Year
- 2025
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $5.2 million
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Genetic testing fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-19
The facts, as recorded
- Wexler and Bleignier operated a telemarketing company that recruited Medicare beneficiaries for cancer genetic testing that was medically unnecessary.
- Cancer genetic testing uses DNA sequencing to detect gene mutations that could indicate a higher future cancer risk. The Justice Department says it is not a method of diagnosing whether a person presently has cancer, and that Medicare covers it only in limited circumstances.
- Wexler, Bleignier and co-conspirators solicited and received kickbacks for referring beneficiaries for testing that was not eligible for Medicare reimbursement.
- Through the scheme about $17.3 million was billed to Medicare and about $5.2 million was paid.
- Wexler pleaded guilty in April 2024 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Bleignier pleaded guilty in November 2022 to conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive kickbacks, and in November 2024 to making false statements related to health care matters.
- While the criminal case was pending, Bleignier opened a clinical laboratory and enrolled it in Medicare, using other people's identities to hide his involvement from a certification that lists anyone with a 5% or greater ownership interest.
- That laboratory billed $3,012,156 in claims that were ineligible because of kickbacks, and was paid $916,106.
- The sentences were announced on November 13, 2025: four years for Wexler, and two years for Bleignier for his leadership role plus two additional years, running concurrently, for falsifying ownership information.
- Each defendant was ordered to pay $1.2 million in forfeiture and $5.2 million in restitution, and Bleignier an additional $916,106 in forfeiture for the laboratory-related conduct.
Why this case matters
This is the recruiter’s side of the scheme. Neither defendant is described as the doctor who ordered a test or the owner of the lab that ran it. They ran a telemarketing company that recruited beneficiaries, and the kickbacks they solicited and received for referring those beneficiaries are central to the case. It also shows what can happen after a defendant is already caught. Bleignier opened a laboratory while his own case was pending and hid his name from its Medicare enrollment, which led to a further guilty plea and a concurrent two-year term.
Cancer risk is not a cancer diagnosis
The Justice Department’s own description of the testing is the clearest account of what was sold. The testing looks for gene mutations that could indicate a higher future risk of cancer. It is not a method of diagnosing whether a person presently has cancer, and Medicare covers it only in limited circumstances.
The caveat
Both defendants pleaded guilty and have been sentenced, so the conduct above is what they admitted, taken from the Justice Department’s announcement. The release does not name the telemarketing company or the laboratory, and this page does not guess at either. It reports the sentences announced on November 13, 2025 and the amounts the court ordered, and nothing beyond them.
Sources
- Telemarketing Company Operators Sentenced for Roles in Genetic Testing Fraud Scheme. US Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. Accessed 2026-10-19. Supports: Every fact above: the defendants, the telemarketing company's recruitment of beneficiaries, the Justice Department's description of cancer genetic testing and Medicare's limited coverage, the kickbacks, the $17.3 million billed and $5.2 million paid, the pleas, the ownership concealment and the laboratory's $3,012,156 billed and $916,106 paid, the November 13, 2025 sentences, restitution and forfeiture.