One of FBI’s most wanted fraudsters arrested in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – The United States (US) Department of Justice announced the arrest of Herbert Leon Kimble, one of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) most wanted fraudsters.

“Fleeing the United States does not mean you can flee justice,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Saturday, June 20.

“Instead of facing accountability for his $1.2 billion Medicare fraud crimes in the United States, Kimble fled to the Philippines, hoping to escape justice. That plan failed. Under President Trump’s leadership, this FBI has now apprehended two fraudsters from its recently unveiled Most Wanted Fraudster list in just two weeks, with more to come,” he added.

Philippine Interior Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla confirmed that Kimble was arrested in the Philippines.

The FBI said the suspect was last known to be residing in Manila. The bureau even offered a $150,000-reward for Kimble’s arrest.

Kimble, 60, was allegedly involved in a large-scale healthcare fraud that targeted the Medicare system “through the improper marketing and distribution of durable medical equipment, particularly orthopedic braces,” according to the FBI.

According to the FBI, Kimble operated a call-center-based operation between 2014 and 2019 that served as a marketing engine for a nationwide fraud scheme.

“His operations focused primarily on initiating contact with Medicare beneficiaries and persuading them to request orthopedic braces for pain relief, which were frequently unnecessary and prescribed through telemedicine consultations that often lacked legitimate medical evaluation,” the FBI said.

“His fraudulent healthcare enterprise resulted in more than $1.2 billion in Medicare charges and affected thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, many of whom were elderly victims,” the FBI added.

On April 4, 2019, he pleaded guilty to the following:

• conspiracy to defraud the US
• make a false claim to a department of the US
• commit mail fraud
• commit wire fraud
• commit healthcare fraud
• offer kickbacks and bribes in connection with his scheme

However, Kimble failed to appear during his sentencing on August 27, 2024, so a US court issued a federal arrest warrant against him on the same day. – Rappler.com