Former College Football Star Sentenced to 16 Years for $197M Medicare Fraud Targeting Seniors and Veterans
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By Raven Brunner Published on May 10, 2026 02:30PM EDT
21d ago· 3 min readenNews
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Summary
Former Mississippi college football star Joel Rufus French, 48, was sentenced to over 16 years in prison for orchestrating a $197 million Medicare fraud scheme that specifically targeted seniors and disabled veterans. The scheme involved selling patient information and fake doctors' orders for orthotic braces that patients never requested or needed, defrauding both Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA).
Key quotes
· 3 pulledFormer Mississippi college football star Joel Rufus French has been sentenced in his federal fraud case.
French, 48, was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for his $197 million Medicare fraud scheme that targeted seniors and disabled veterans.
He took part in a years-long scheme to defraud Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) by selling patient information and fake doctors' orders for orthotic braces that patients didn't want.
Former college football star Joel Rufus French was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for his $197 million Medicare fraud scheme that targeted seniors and disabled veterans.
