A federal jury in Miami convicted Brett Blackman, 42, founder and chief executive of HealthSplash, on three conspiracy counts arising from a Medicare fraud scheme that generated more than $1 billion in fraudulent claims billed to federal health programs [1][2]. Prosecutors from the Justice Department's Fraud Section charged Blackman with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, and conspiracy to defraud the United States and make false statements in connection with health care matters [1]. All three counts survived to trial and the jury returned guilty verdicts on each [1][2].
The government's case centered on Blackman's use of DMERx, a telemedicine software platform he controlled, to manufacture fraudulent physicians' orders for durable medical equipment that Medicare beneficiaries did not need [1][2]. To drive volume, Blackman's operation deployed foreign call centers and mass spam mailers to recruit hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries, then routed their information through DMERx to produce orders that bore the appearance of legitimate clinical review [2][3]. The resulting claims, submitted to Medicare, exceeded $1 billion, placing the scheme among the largest Medicare fraud prosecutions on record in Florida [1][3].
Sentencing is scheduled for August 26, 2026, before the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida [1]. The conviction on three federal conspiracy counts carries substantial exposure under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, though the court retains discretion over the final term. No post-trial motions were reported in the source materials as of the verdict date.