Quality & complianceOfficial

Florida clinic CEO and VA employee sentenced over healthcare kickbacks steering veterans to clinic

🇺🇸 US Department of Justice · Thu 05 Nov 2026

Heriberto Rivera received 13 months and Laurent Cassagnol 6 months for a bribery conspiracy that sent VA Community Care patients to an Orlando clinic.

Two Orlando men have been sentenced in a US federal case involving illegal healthcare kickbacks and bribes, the Department of Justice announced on 5 November 2026. Heriberto Rivera received 13 months in prison and Laurent Cassagnol 6 months. Both are 43.

According to court documents, Rivera was CEO of Family Integrative Medicine of Orlando, LLC (FIMO). He paid kickbacks and bribes to Cassagnol, an Advanced Medical Support Assistant with the VA Community Care Program (VACCP). In return, Cassagnol used his VA position to direct veterans and their families to FIMO for acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments and other holistic services.

The DOJ said more than $14 million in fraudulent claims were submitted to the VA and VACCP as a result, and over $11 million was paid. Besides their prison terms, Rivera must forfeit $515,542 and Cassagnol $175,172, which the department described as the proceeds each obtained from the offence.

The investigation began with a complaint to the VA Office of the Inspector General fraud hotline. The FBI and VA-OIG investigated, and trial attorneys from the Fraud Division's Health Care Fraud Section are prosecuting. The DOJ noted that the Fraud Division was created on 7 April, and that its Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program has charged more than 6,200 defendants since 2007 who billed federal and private payers more than $45 billion.

What it means for your team

  • The case shows that US enforcers treat payments to people who control patient referrals within a government health programme as a serious criminal matter, with prison terms and forfeiture.
  • Compliance teams may wish to review controls over interactions with public-sector staff and with third parties that influence patient or provider routing.
  • A hotline complaint triggered the investigation, underlining the role of internal and external reporting channels in detecting misconduct.

Official source: US Department of Justice ↗

Article written by VigiEye from the official source (US Department of Justice). AI-assisted; check the source before acting.

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