The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation has announced a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Herbert Leon Kimble, a convicted fraudster wanted over a massive healthcare fraud scheme that allegedly generated more than $1.2 billion in fraudulent Medicare charges.
Kimble, also known as Herbert L. Kimble, Herbert Lee Kimble and Herb Kimble, was last known to be living in Manila, Philippines, according to the FBI’s wanted notice. The bureau said he is wanted for failure to appear after missing a scheduled sentencing hearing in the United States.
According to investigators, Kimble played a central role in a large-scale conspiracy that targeted the Medicare system through the improper marketing and distribution of durable medical equipment, especially orthopaedic braces. The FBI said he operated a sophisticated call-centre-based network from around 2014 to March 2019, serving as the marketing arm of a nationwide fraud operation involving telemedicine providers, medical equipment suppliers and brace distributors.
The operation allegedly contacted Medicare beneficiaries, many of them elderly, and persuaded them to request braces for pain relief. Authorities said many of the braces were medically unnecessary and were prescribed through telemedicine consultations that often lacked proper medical evaluation.
The prescriptions were then sold to durable medical equipment companies, while suppliers linked to Kimble shipped the braces. The companies subsequently billed Medicare for reimbursement, resulting in more than $1.2 billion in charges and affecting thousands of beneficiaries, the FBI said.
Court records cited by the bureau show that Kimble pleaded guilty on April 4, 2019, in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, Columbia Division. His guilty plea covered conspiracy to defraud the United States, making false claims, mail fraud, wire fraud, healthcare fraud, and offering kickbacks and bribes.
The FBI said Kimble failed to appear for his sentencing hearing on August 27, 2024. A federal arrest warrant was issued the same day after he was charged with failure to appear.
The US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General also lists Kimble as a fugitive and says the offshore call-centre scheme marketed orthotic braces through television and internet advertisements before selling prescriptions to equipment suppliers.
The FBI urged anyone with information on Kimble’s whereabouts to contact its toll-free tip line, a local FBI office, the nearest American embassy or consulate, or submit a tip online.
