Two Orlando-area men have pleaded guilty in a scheme that allegedly paid a Department of Veterans Affairs employee to steer veterans toward a local holistic medicine clinic. The case involved at least $175,172 in kickbacks and nearly $12 million in VA-paid claims tied to those referrals.
The plea announcement came Thursday from federal prosecutors, who identified the defendants as Heriberto L. Rivera, CEO of Family Integrative Medicine of Orlando, LLC, and Laurent Cassagnol, a VA employee in Orlando.
CEO and VA Employee from Orlando Plead Guilty to Paying and Receiving Illegal Health Care Kickbacks and Bribes https://t.co/TeaS3d51HY
— USAO Middle Florida (@USAO_MDFL) July 30, 2026
How the VA referral scheme allegedly worked
According to the court filing, Cassagnol worked as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant for the VA Community Care Program, while Rivera ran Family Integrative Medicine of Orlando. The alleged conspiracy lasted from about July 2019 through December 2023, with Cassagnol steering VA patients to the clinic and Rivera paying him personally and through a company called LC Management Group.
The filing says Rivera paid at least $175,172 in kickbacks and disguised some of the payments as purported marketing or consulting fees. The clinic then submitted roughly $14.08 million in claims connected to referrals procured through the payments, and the VA paid approximately $11.95 million, according to the Middle District's case summary.
The VA Community Care Program is designed to connect veterans with outside providers when the department cannot provide needed care directly. The same court filing says the alleged kickback arrangement interfered with veterans' ability to choose which holistic-care provider they wanted to use.
Guilty pleas leave sentencing and forfeiture ahead
Both defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 371, the federal statute that generally allows up to five years in prison, a fine, or both for that offense, according to the U.S. Code. A judge will determine the final punishment after considering the federal sentencing guidelines and other case-specific factors.
The case surfaced during the Justice Department's 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, which the U.S. Attorney's Office said involved charges against 455 defendants nationwide and more than $6.5 billion in alleged false claims. For Orlando veterans, the local case is a reminder that the gatekeeping systems meant to connect patients with care can become targets when referrals are treated like a payday.
