Herbert Leon Kimble, 60, was arrested in the Philippines and is back in the United States after failing to appear for sentencing in a Medicare fraud case involving more than $1.2 billion in alleged charges, according to federal officials and FBI postings.
Herbert Leon Kimble, 60, was arrested in the Philippines and has been returned to the United States after failing to appear in federal court for sentencing in a major Medicare fraud case, according to federal authorities.
Kimble pleaded guilty on April 4, 2019, to conspiracy to defraud the United States, a charge tied to a broader health care fraud and kickback scheme involving orthotic braces, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). HHS-OIG says Kimble controlled and operated an offshore call center that marketed braces through television and internet advertisements; when Medicare beneficiaries called, they were screened and persuaded they needed braces, often being “upsold” additional items. The resulting durable medical equipment (DME) claims generated more than $1.2 billion in charges to Medicare, HHS-OIG says.
HHS-OIG reports that Kimble failed to appear at his sentencing on October 7, 2024, and a bench warrant was issued.
The arrest was announced publicly in social media posts by FBI Director Kash Patel, who said Kimble was apprehended in the Philippines and is now back in the United States. Patel described the capture as the second arrest linked to the FBI’s newly created “Most Wanted Fraudsters” list and said it followed the surrender of Said Abdullahi Ereg, who had been added to the list days earlier.
Ereg is listed by the FBI as wanted for alleged participation in a scheme connected to fraud involving the Federal Child Nutrition Program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Separately, The Daily Wire reported that Vice President JD Vance credited a White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud for helping spur arrests tied to the new list, and that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Kimble’s effort to evade justice had failed.
