Two men, one from Texas and one from Florida, were sentenced Thursday for their roles as leaders of a telemarketing company that fraudulently solicited Medicare beneficiaries for medically unnecessary genetic testing, a scheme that cost Medicare millions.
Paul Wexler, 56, of Spring, Texas, received a four-year prison sentence, and Paul Bleignier, 64, of Seminole, Florida, was sentenced to two years in prison. Bleignier received an additional two-year concurrent sentence for a separate, but related, crime involving the falsification of Medicare enrollment documents for a clinical laboratory.
According to court documents, Wexler and Bleignier operated a telemarketing company that specifically targeted Medicare beneficiaries for cancer genetic (CGx) testing. CGx testing uses DNA sequencing to assess an individual’s future risk of developing certain cancers; it is not a tool for diagnosing current cancer, and Medicare only covers the procedure under limited circumstances.
The pair and their co-conspirators were found to have solicited and received kickbacks in exchange for referring beneficiaries for this testing, which was ineligible for Medicare reimbursement. As a result of their fraudulent operation, Medicare was billed a staggering $17.3 million, from which Wexler and Bleignier were personally paid $5.2 million.
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Additional Fraudulent Activity
While his criminal case for the genetic testing fraud was pending, Bleignier opened a new clinical laboratory and enrolled it in Medicare. To conceal his involvement, Bleignier used the identities of other individuals to falsify the required Medicare enrollment certification, which mandates disclosure of anyone with a five percent or greater ownership interest.
Claims submitted by this new laboratory were also tainted by illegal kickbacks. Through this subsequent scheme, Bleignier and his co-conspirators billed Medicare for $3,012,156 in ineligible claims, receiving payments totaling $916,106.
Guilty Pleas and Financial Penalties
Wexler previously pleaded guilty in April 2024 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Bleignier pleaded guilty in November 2022 to conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive kickbacks, and later, in November 2024, to making false statements related to health care matters.
In addition to their prison sentences, both men were ordered to pay $1.2 million in forfeiture each and a total of $5.2 million in restitution. Bleignier was ordered to pay an additional $916,106 in forfeiture related to the falsified laboratory ownership.
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