Florida man gets 14 years in prison for $20M Medicare fraud scheme

South Florida Sun Sentinel (FL)

A Delray Beach businessman was sentenced to 14 years in prison for marketing unnecessary tests and products to Medicare beneficiaries and defrauding the government-run health insurance system out of more than $20 million.

Marc Sporn, 59, ran the scam through numerous Palm Beach County companies that he founded and used his company accounts to purchase luxury items such as high-end watches and diamond jewelry, classic and exotic cars, and two yachts, according to a news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Following a plea agreement, forfeiture of ill-gotten gains and pledges to help prosecutors obtain convictions against former business associates, Sporn pleaded guilty on April 1 to conspiracy to commit fraud and to federal tax evasion. He was sentenced on Thursday in federal court in Miami, the release said.

Sporn used the companies to market medically unnecessary genetic tests to patients on Medicare and sell doctors orders for the tests to laboratories in exchange for kickbacks and bribes, the release said, adding that he knew the laboratories would use the doctors’ orders to bill Medicare for the unnecessary goods and services.

In addition to prison time, Sporn was ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for personal income taxes he evaded dating back to 2000. When the IRS tried to collect back taxes from Sporn, he tried to conceal his assets by transferring property to trusts and individuals and by repeatedly opening and closing companies, among other evasions, the release said.

Telemarketing and telemedicine companies created by Sporn for the scam include CPL Media Group Inc. Medipak, LLC, Real Time Physicians LLC, 24 HR Virtual MD LLC, Medtech Worldwide Inc., New World Holdings Inc., and Ins Cov LLC. He also controlled Medi Biotech LLC, which marketed compounded prescription creams, and Walmol Holdings LLC, a shell corporation.

In a court filing asking the court for a lenient sentence, Spore said he has helped the government obtain convictions of two business associates and is “bolstering the government’s efforts” to prosecute another associate charged with participating in the schemes.

Sporn reported paying more that $6.4 million to the IRS to cover his unpaid taxes from 2012 to 2019 and agreed to forfeit $11.5 million —”the total amount of gross proceeds he obtained as a result of his health care fraud offense,” the filing says.

It added that he recently sold his 2020 white Bentley convertible for $130,890 and turned over the proceeds to the government. “He likewise is in the process ... of selling a series of watches and cars.”

Sporn’s activities have been getting him in trouble for years.

In 1992, he pleaded guilty to defrauding vendors by ordering medical supplies on credit and declaring bankruptcy before he paid up. He pleaded guilty to 11 counts of fraud and was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution, court records show.

In 2014, the Iowa Insurance Division filed a cease-and-desist order to stop Sporn, his two adult children, and another employee from selling limited health benefit insurance plans as comprehensive major medical plans that complied with requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

Sporn’s involvement in the insurance business was illegal because of his previous fraud convictions, the division said.

Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. You can reach him at [email protected], on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by phone at 954-356-4071.