Samuel Konell, Medicare Health Care Fraud, FL 2024

A $63 million health care fraud scheme centered on a phony mental health clinic in Miami has ended in a 60-month federal prison sentence for 70-year-old Samuel Konell of Boca Raton, Florida. Konell was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez for his role in orchestrating a web of fraudulent referrals to Greater Miami Behavioral Healthcare Center Inc., a now-shuttered facility that billed Medicare for services never rendered or medically necessary.

Konell admitted in court that from January 2006 through June 2012, he accepted kickbacks in exchange for funneling defendants from the Miami-Dade state court system into the clinic as patients. He coordinated with individuals facing criminal charges, securing court-ordered mental health treatment — often for people who weren’t mentally ill — so he could refer them to Greater Miami. In return, he collected bribes disguised as salary payments, with bonuses doled out during holidays when referrals spiked.

The scheme relied on deception at every level. Konell placed himself on the clinic’s payroll to make illicit payments appear legitimate. He falsely told judges and court officials that referred individuals required partial hospitalization program (PHP) services, even though many didn’t qualify. The clinic then submitted fraudulent Medicare claims based on these referrals, with over $63 million in false billing tied to the conspiracy. Konell’s direct involvement led to at least $9.5 million — and as much as $25 million — in fraudulent claims.

Judge Martinez ordered Konell to pay $9,921,726 in restitution and to forfeit personal assets, including multiple pieces of jewelry, to satisfy a $432,829 money judgment. His November 21, 2017, guilty plea covered one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and receive health care kickbacks — charges that exposed the rot at the heart of a system meant to serve the vulnerable.

Eleven others have already been sentenced in the sprawling case, including the owner of Greater Miami, three administrators, and seven patient brokers. The clinic’s collapse revealed a criminal enterprise masquerading as a mental health provider, exploiting both the judicial and federal health care systems for profit.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida, Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, FBI Miami’s Special Agent in Charge Robert Lasky, and HHS-OIG’s Miami Regional Office SAC Shimon R. Richmond all announced the outcome, underscoring the federal crackdown on health care fraud in South Florida.