Sentencing Delayed Again For Fairfield Man In Federal Fraud Case

FAIRFIELD, CT — Once again, the sentencing of Fairfield resident Jesse Foote in connection with a $7.8 million federal health care case has been postponed, according to authorities.

Foote pleaded guilty last August to conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback statute, and conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and he was slated to be sentenced on May 15.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice told Patch that Foote is now scheduled to be sentenced on July 16 in federal court in Newark, New Jersey by Judge Esther Salas.

Why the sentencing was postponed was not disclosed.

Foote faces a possible maximum prison term of 15 years, and fines totaling $500,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater.

According to authorities, Foote was accused of conspiring with overseas telemarking call centers, durable medical equipment suppliers, telemedicine companies, and doctors to submit fraudulent claims to health care benefit programs.

The scheme ran from December 2017 to March 2021, and among those scammed included Medicare and TRICARE, through a circular scheme of kickbacks and bribes.

Foote controlled a marketing company though which he purchased patient "leads" from overseas telemarking companies, which consisted of information about Medicare and other beneficiaries and pre-written doctors' orders for durable medical equipment. The telemarketing call centers targeted Medicare beneficiaries and others with health insurance to persuade them to accept equipment, including orthotic braces, without regard to medical necessity. Foote paid bribes and kickbacks to telemedicine companies, which in turn paid bribes and kickbacks to doctors, to obtain doctors’ orders for durable medical equipment based on the leads.

The doctors often approved the equipment orders without having had any contact with the beneficiary and without making a bona fide assessment that such equipment was medically necessary.

Prosecutors said that Foote then sold the signed doctors' orders to others with whom he had kickback arrangements. The doctors' orders were ultimately submitted to durable medical equipment suppliers, including equipment suppliers controlled by Foote, which submitted fraudulent claims for reimbursement to health care benefit programs including Medicare, TRICARE, and private insurance companies.