A Mississippi businessman pleaded guilty today to participating in a scheme to defraud Medicare by paying kickbacks for fraudulent doctors’ orders and then using those orders to bill the government insurer over $19 million through seven different durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies.
According to court documents, Willie De Gibbs, 53, of Toomsuba, Mississippi, and Cutler Bay, Florida, was the sole owner of three DME supply companies and was the beneficial owner of and controlled, sometimes through straw owners, four other DME supply companies. He sought to defraud Medicare by submitting fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary orthotic braces for beneficiaries that did not request or need them.
Gibbs pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 25, 2026, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Lemon for the Southern District of Mississippi; Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff of the FBI Jackson Field Office; and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
FBI and HHS-OIG are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Sara E. Porter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly T. Purdie for the Southern District of Mississippi are prosecuting the case.