Two men, Paul Wexler, 56, of Spring, Texas, and Paul Bleignier, 64, of Seminole, Florida, have been sentenced to federal prison for their involvement in a telemarketing scheme that fraudulently billed Medicare for unnecessary cancer genetic tests. Wexler received a four-year prison term, while Bleignier was sentenced to two years, with an additional two-year term to run concurrently. The sentencing, which occurred on Thursday, follows their conviction for defrauding Medicare by promoting tests that patients did not need.
In a Office of Public Affairs release, authorities said Wexler and Bleignier operated a marketing company that recruited Medicare beneficiaries for cancer genetic (CGx) tests that prosecutors say were medically unnecessary. The operation caused Medicare to be billed about $17.3 million, while the conspirators were paid roughly $5.2 million, and the scheme also involved illegal kickbacks tied to referrals.
How Prosecutors Say The Scheme Worked
Court filings show Wexler pleaded guilty in April 2024 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Bleignier pleaded guilty in November 2022 to a conspiracy involving kickbacks and again in November 2024 to making false statements in health-care matters, as reported by the Office of Public Affairs. Those pleas set the stage for the sentencing hearing.
According to the Office of Public Affairs, Bleignier also enrolled a clinical laboratory in Medicare using other people’s identities to hide his ownership interest. Claims associated with that lab generated about $3,012,156 in ineligible bills and roughly $916,106 in payments, prosecutors said, adding that those claims were further tainted by kickbacks and became a separate focus of the investigation. The case was handled by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Penalties And Orders
At sentencing, the court ordered each defendant to forfeit $1.2 million and to pay $5.2 million in restitution. Bleignier was ordered to give up an additional $916,106 tied to the falsified Medicare enrollment, as per The Dallas Express. The outlet also noted that Trial Attorney Charles D. Strauss of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case for the government.
This prosecution is one of many genetic-testing and telemarketing cases swept up in a national law-enforcement crackdown earlier this year that charged hundreds of defendants and identified about $14.6 billion in alleged fraud, officials and reporting said, part of a broader push to use data analytics and cross-agency coordination to spot schemes faster, as noted by Reuters.
What Medicare Recipients Should Watch For
Federal watchdogs warn beneficiaries to be wary of unsolicited offers for “free” genetic testing, cheek-swab kiosks, or telemarketing calls that ask for Medicare numbers or promise no-cost screenings. Those pitches are frequently used to harvest personal information or generate inappropriate testing, according to guidance from the HHS Office of Inspector General. The agency urges beneficiaries to review Medicare Summary Notices carefully and to report suspected fraud to the HHS-OIG hotline.
The case involved charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, wire fraud, kickback offenses, and making false statements. Investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, prosecutors secured prison sentences for the offenders, along with forfeiture and restitution orders to recover taxpayer funds. The penalties emphasize the Justice Department’s commitment to dismantling fraudulent telemarketing schemes that exploit Medicare, particularly targeting older Americans, as reported by The Dallas Express.
