A Brooklyn federal judge on Tuesday gave Anthony Santamaria a 10-year prison term for his role in a sprawling telemedicine fraud that prosecutors say pushed nearly $2 billion in bogus prescriptions through U.S. pharmacies. The operation leaned on sham call centers, so-called “ghost” telemedicine visits and remotely operated billing teams to crank out prescriptions in patients’ names. Many of those patients never received the medications ordered for them, according to prosecutors, who say the alleged ringleader, Brian Michael Sutton, is still in the wind and believed to be operating abroad.
According to the Department of Justice, Santamaria’s crew submitted more than $1.97 billion in fraudulent prescriptions, and private insurers ultimately paid out over $758 million. The scheme touched more than 75 pharmacies nationwide, including locations in Brooklyn, Staten Island, Manhattan, Long Island and New Jersey, and ran from 2017 through 2022. At Santamaria’s sentencing, U.S. District Judge William F. Kuntz II also ordered him to forfeit $3.2 million.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York said Santamaria is the third co-conspirator to be sentenced this month, following guilty pleas or convictions for Hershel Tsikman and Hafizullah Ebady. Court filings identify the alleged leader as Brian Michael Sutton, who is described in docket entries as remaining at large and using aliases including “Mike Summers,” “Mike Miller” and “Ryan White.” The case is listed as E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-564 (S-3) (WFK). Three other co-defendants, David Bishoff, Brycen Millett and Joshua Alegria, remain awaiting sentencing.
How Prosecutors Say The Ring Operated
Prosecutors say the network ran like an international criminal organization, complete with recruiters, frontmen and money movers. Call-center staff were brought in to drum up business, pharmacies were allegedly bought through straw owners, and encrypted communications and pass-through companies were used to shuffle and launder the proceeds.
“This Moscow-based criminal organization provided anything but health care,” Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald said in a statement to the Department of Justice.
Sentences, Forfeiture And What’s Next
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York said Hershel Tsikman was sentenced to 120 months and Hafizullah Ebady to 97 months earlier this month. Judge Kuntz ordered Santamaria to forfeit $3.2 million and Ebady to forfeit more than $1.8 million, with restitution to victims set to be determined at a later hearing. Several co-conspirators who ran call centers, operated pharmacies or developed the custom billing software are still waiting on their own sentencing dates.
Why Prosecutors Are Focusing On Telehealth Fraud
Enforcers have increasingly zeroed in on telehealth in recent years, arguing that remote care, while convenient, can also open the door to improper prescribing and large-scale billing scams. Legal advisers warn that civil and criminal tools are now being used in tandem to police those abuses, a trend outlined by Arnold & Porter.
The case is being handled by EDNY’s Business and Securities Fraud Section and highlights how quickly digital health tools can be weaponized for profit. As reported by the New York Post, investigators still face the challenge of tracking leadership believed to be operating overseas while sorting through millions in alleged ill-gotten gains.
