Telemedicine Company Owner Stole $46 Million From Taxpayers

There is more and more evidence that America’s welfare systems are so weak that a single clever fraudster can spend years scamming millions of dollars out of taxpayers. 

The Trump administration has been prioritizing anti-fraud crackdowns lately, especially with regard to healthcare fraud. Just in California, many hundreds of millions of dollars have gone to waste on scammers claiming to provide healthcare or senior care services, but actually just buying luxury items. This week, the Trump administration charged 15 medical fraudsters responsible for stealing almost $2 billion. And the man who just received his sentence for telemedicine fraud managed to steal more money than most Americans will ever see in their lives.

Christopher Harwood from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was the owner of TelevisitMD. Harwood gathered a group of criminals who helped him target Medicare patients, pressuring them into accepting genetic tests and orthotic braces which they did not need, according to the Department of Justice. Harwood then paid off doctors to approve the orders for those tests and braces, bypassing Medicare's rules and ignoring the need for an actual relationship between doctor and patient.

Next, Harwood would sell the signed orders to companies that supplied durable medical equipment (DME). He also sold them to marketers and laboratories. Coincidentally, Harwood himself also owned more than one DME supply company which billed Medicare for unnecessary orthotic braces. 

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The DOJ added:

In total, Harwood caused $46.2 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, and Medicare paid $17.9 million based on those claims. Harwood personally profited more than $10.4 million from the fraud scheme.

In March 2026, Harwood pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.

On Friday, Harwood received a sentence of 20 years in prison, according to the DOJ. Furthermore, Harwood has to pay $17,942,402 in restitution to Medicare, besides $10,431,463 in forfeiture. 

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The DOJ noted that Harwood's elaborate conspiracy worked for over six years. The DOJ also added, "The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program… has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal healthcare programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007.”

First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli discussed federal agents arresting LA medical fraudsters accused of stealing $2 billion by billing Medicare for unneeded surgeries and phony hospice care. https://t.co/07e7svJzzS https://t.co/aMjmwuqcpf

— California Post (@californiapost) October 22, 2026

For decades, politicians have just increased spending more and more, driving up the national debt and refusing to acknowledge the massive fraud problem. Now here we are with more than $40.4 trillion in national debt and thousands (at least) of fraudsters across the country. Add in the fact that the medical industry has begun consistently prioritizing money over individual patients' health, and you have a recipe for disaster.

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