FORT PIERCE – A Vero Beach woman indicted by a federal grand jury in connection to a multimillion-dollar Medicare fraud scheme was ordered Thursday to serve six months in prison, court records show.
Pamala Ann Seymour, 60, who was owner and operator of Need A Brace LLC and Orthotics Now, Inc., both of Fort Pierce, when she was arrested in May 2023, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release with six months of home confinement following her release from prison.
During a two-hour hearing, U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon further directed Seymour to pay $1,314,857 in restitution, court filings show.
Seymour, who in February pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, was accused of submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare “that was procured through the payment of kickbacks and bribes (and) was not medically necessary,” court filings state.
Federal prosecutors in court papers stated in one instance, Seymour and unnamed accomplices billed Medicare $2,730,507, which paid out a total of $1,312,857.
“Seymour and her co-conspirators then diverted the fraudulently obtained proceeds for their personal use and benefit, and to further the fraud,” stated a factual proffer she signed Feb. 2.
Seymour in 2018 sold Need A Brace LLC and Orthotics Now, Inc., to other co-conspirators, court records show, but she was accused of continuing to take part in the conspiracy.
Her Tampa attorney Simon Gaugush, of Carlton Fields PA, noted in court papers that Seymour was “keenly aware of the embarrassment this has caused her family,” and realized “that her actions have put her reputation at risk and her employees’ jobs in jeopardy.”
He urged Cannon to impose a sentence of home confinement and probation.
“To say that she is remorseful is an understatement. Ms. Seymour’s personal recognition of wrongdoing is real,” Gaugush wrote. “She has spent 25 years building a reputation for excellence and professionalism and now she has to deal with being a convicted felon; worse, the prospect of prison.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Lazopoulos Friedman in a sentencing memo asked Cannon to sentence Seymour to a term of 30 months in prison.
“The defendant participated in the conspiracy in a crucial way — setting up the companies, recruiting co-conspirators, contracting with, and paying marketers, submitting false claims to Medicare and certifying their veracity,” Friedman wrote.
“It is because of her role as an experienced, accomplished, and knowledgeable businesswoman,” Friedman added, “that she was able to help create and participate in a scheme that went largely undetected for years.”
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Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of “Uncertain Terms,” a true-crime podcast. Reach her at melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com. If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest local news on the Treasure Coast.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Vero Beach woman guilty in Medicare fraud scheme, ordered to prison
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