BI nabs, deports FBI’s most-wanted fraud suspect

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has arrested and deported an American national wanted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for his alleged role in a multibillion-dollar healthcare fraud scheme targeting elderly Americans.

Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado identified the fugitive as Herbert Leon Kimble, 60, who was arrested in Pasig City by agents of the BI Fugitive Search Unit with the assistance of government intelligence operatives.

Kimble was deported over the weekend and has been placed on the BI blacklist, permanently barring him from re-entering the Philippines.

According to the FBI, Kimble was a high-priority target wanted for failing to appear at a sentencing hearing in South Carolina in August 2024 after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges tied to a massive Medicare fraud operation.

US authorities alleged that from 2014 to 2019, Kimble operated an offshore call-center network that served as the marketing arm of a nationwide scheme involving telemedicine providers, medical equipment suppliers and orthopedic brace distributors.

Investigators said the operation targeted Medicare beneficiaries, many of them elderly, persuading them to obtain orthopedic braces that were often medically unnecessary.

Prescriptions were allegedly secured through telemedicine consultations that lacked proper medical evaluation before being sold to medical equipment companies that billed Medicare for reimbursement.

The FBI said the scheme generated more than $1.2 billion in fraudulent Medicare charges and affected thousands of beneficiaries across the United States.

Kimble pleaded guilty in April 2019 to conspiracy to defraud the United States, healthcare fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, false claims, and kickback-related offenses.

However, he failed to appear for sentencing, prompting the issuance of a federal arrest warrant.

The FBI had offered a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction and listed Manila as his last known place of residence.

“The Philippines will not serve as a sanctuary for fugitives seeking to evade justice in their home countries,” Viado said.

“These arrests demonstrate our commitment to working closely with international law enforcement partners to ensure that foreign nationals who pose a threat to public safety are located, arrested, and removed from our communities,” he added.