A Johnson County man who led a company that acquired and operated a software platform used to bilk Medicare out of hundreds of millions of dollars is headed to federal prison for nearly two decades. Brett Blackman, 43, was sentenced Wednesday to 19 years for his role in a scheme that billed Medicare and other federal health care programs more than $1 billion for medically unnecessary equipment, much of which patients did not need.
Blackman owned, controlled and served as chief executive officer of HealthSplash, according to court evidence cited by wibw.com. In September 2017, HealthSplash acquired Power Mobility Doctor Rx, LLC, known as DMERx, an internet-based platform that generated false and fraudulent doctors’ orders for durable medical equipment and prescriptions, per the same report. Prosecutors said Blackman and his co-conspirators used that platform to connect pharmacies, durable medical equipment suppliers and marketers with telemedicine companies willing to accept illegal kickbacks and bribes in exchange for signed orders.
According to FOX4KC, Blackman and his co-conspirators arranged for purported telemedicine doctors to sign bogus prescription orders and received a cut in exchange for referrals. The scheme targeted hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries across the country, court documents and trial evidence show, with orthotic braces and other items pushed on patients who often had no medical need for them.
Patients Fraudulently Billed For Braces
The numbers behind the scheme are staggering even by federal fraud standards. Medicare was fraudulently billed for orthotic braces for more than 346,000 beneficiaries, the station's report notes, and DME suppliers and pharmacies billed Medicare and other federal health care benefit programs more than $1 billion for unnecessary equipment. Medicare and other insurers ultimately paid out more than $450 million based on those claims.
To keep the scheme running, Blackman and his co-conspirators concealed it through sham contracts and manipulated doctors' orders to avoid Medicare audits, according to trial evidence. They also removed references to telemedicine in doctors' orders specifically to dodge scrutiny, the same evidence shows.
Undercover Agent Exposed The Scheme In Action
Some of the most damning evidence at trial came from an undercover agent who posed as a Medicare beneficiary to see how the operation actually worked. A foreign call center urged the agent to accept multiple braces before a doctor signed off on the orders through DMERx, per wibw.com's account of the trial. The doctor's order falsely claimed the physician had conducted tests requiring in-person visits, even though that doctor never spoke with the undercover patient.
After a 23-day jury trial that ended in April, a jury convicted Blackman of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, and conspiracy to defraud the United States and make false statements in health care matters. Blackman's restitution and forfeiture obligations will be determined by the court at a later date, according to the Department of Justice.
Co-Defendant Already Behind Bars
Blackman wasn't operating alone. His co-defendant Gary Cox was also sentenced to 15 years in prison in December 2025. CBS News reported that Cox was convicted in June 2025 and received the same 15-year term. The Justice Department has said Cox and his co-conspirators targeted hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries who handed over personal information and agreed to accept medically unnecessary orthotic braces, pain creams and other items pitched through misleading mailers, television ads and calls from offshore call centers.
Colin M. McDonald said the lengthy prison sentence held the scheme's orchestrator accountable, according to the fraud division. McDonald also said the scheme lured hundreds of thousands of elderly and disabled Americans into an international telemarketing system designed to steal from the Medicare trust fund, and said the fraud division would continue targeting complex fraud operations like this one.
A Known Weak Spot In Medicare's System
Fraud schemes built around durable medical equipment exploit a narrow set of vulnerabilities, according to a 2026 white paper from the HHS Office of Inspector General, which identifies three elements bad actors need: a Medicare-enrolled supplier, a physician order and an enrollee. Blackman's operation involved false doctors’ orders and extensive targeting of beneficiaries.
