FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — A federal jury in Fort Lauderdale has convicted a Pompano Beach nursing assistant of participating in an $11.4 million health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy that sent Medicare beneficiaries thousands of orthotic braces they did not need.
The defendant, identified in court records as Christian “Chris” Cruz, 45, was found guilty after prosecutors presented evidence that hundreds of Medicare beneficiaries were targeted in the scheme. The braces were shipped nationwide, and the billings were routed through a Florida-based durable medical equipment supplier prosecutors said Cruz owned and operated.
Authorities say the operation worked by generating paperwork first and patient need second. According to court documents and trial evidence, Cruz and a co-conspirator paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to obtain signed doctors’ orders. Those orders were then used to justify shipping orthotic braces and billing Medicare for them, including cases where beneficiaries did not request the braces and did not require them.
Prosecutors said Cruz also lied to Medicare about who controlled the company. He claimed to be the sole owner and operator when, according to the case, he actually shared ownership with a co-conspirator described as a convicted felon. Medicare would not have allowed the company to enroll if it had known about that ownership arrangement, prosecutors said. The co-conspirator has been charged but remains at large, according to the case summary provided by federal authorities.
The verdict is significant locally because it was prosecuted in the Southern District of Florida, with the trial held in Fort Lauderdale, and the conduct described in court filings includes activity across South Florida banking locations. Federal authorities said Cruz received several hundred thousand dollars into his personal bank account from the scheme and repeatedly withdrew cash on consecutive days at different branches, often in amounts just under $10,000.
In addition to the core fraud counts, the jury convicted Cruz on counts related to financial structuring — the practice of breaking transactions into smaller amounts to avoid triggering bank reporting requirements. Prosecutors said his pattern of withdrawals tracked just under the $10,000 threshold.
Cruz was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, four counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to make false statements relating to health care matters, and three counts of structuring. Federal authorities said he is scheduled to be sentenced April 13.
The maximum potential penalty cited by prosecutors is 125 years in prison. Sentencing in federal court is determined by a U.S. District Court judge, who weighs the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors before imposing any sentence.
For residents in Boca Raton and across Palm Beach County, the case is another example of how Medicare fraud schemes can be run locally while impacting patients nationwide. Prosecutors framed the case as one that relied on using medical credentials and paperwork to open billing channels, then pushing volume — thousands of braces — through those channels regardless of patient need.
The investigation was handled by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). The prosecution team included a trial attorney from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Fraud Section and an assistant U.S. attorney from the Southern District of Florida.
Federal officials also tied the case to broader enforcement efforts. The Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, launched in 2007, has charged more than 5,800 defendants across multiple federal districts, with billed amounts collectively exceeding $30 billion, according to the program summary included with the case announcement. Federal authorities said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working with HHS-OIG, are also taking steps aimed at holding providers accountable for involvement in fraud schemes.
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