Seniors Wanted a COVID Test. Prosecutors Say They Got Dozens of Unordered Blood Tests Billed to Medicare

Published Oct. 9, 2026. Case statuses are current as of that date.

At the height of the pandemic, residents of country-club communities in the West Palm Beach area lined up at drive-through events for something they badly wanted: a COVID-19 nasal swab and an antibody test. Federal prosecutors say many of them left with far more blood drawn than they ever agreed to, and Medicare was billed more than $15 million for tests no doctor ordered.

On Oct. 6, 2026, a federal jury in the Southern District of Florida convicted Joseph Rodriguez, 58, of Coral Springs, Florida, of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and six counts of health care fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Oct. 7 [1]. Prosecutors describe him as the vice president of a testing laboratory who also owned and operated a separate marketing company, Phoenix Health [1][2].

Note on status: Rodriguez has been convicted by a jury but has not been sentenced, and he may appeal. The Justice Department release does not name the laboratory or any other participant, and we have not named anyone else.

How the scheme worked

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, as described by the Justice Department [1]:

1. Marketing to residence clubs. Rodriguez, through Phoenix Health, marketed drive-through COVID-19 testing events to the managers of residence country clubs in the West Palm Beach area and set up the events.
2. What patients signed up for. Elderly residents registered for a COVID-19 nasal swab and a blood antibody test.
3. What they got. Prosecutors say patients were "subjected to tens or even hundreds of unnecessary blood tests that they did not want or need, and that no doctor ordered as required." The extra tests ranged from hormone tests to heavy metal tests for arsenic, mercury and cadmium.
4. Extra blood draws. Rodriguez directed his staff to draw extra blood for the unnecessary tests, according to the evidence at trial.
5. The billing. The tests were billed to Medicare as if they were medically necessary and ordered by a treating physician. Prosecutors say Rodriguez caused a doctor's name to be fraudulently listed on the claims.

The events took place at nine clubs over about four months and involved almost 2,000 patients. Medicare was billed more than $15 million and paid more than $500,000, according to the Justice Department [1]. WPBF reported that the events took place in 2020 and that Medicare was billed $15.7 million [3].

Complaints were part of the evidence. Prosecutors say the jury saw patient complaints sent to Rodriguez, complaints from one of the doctors who supposedly ordered the tests asking why Medicare had been billed thousands of dollars in the doctor's name, and messages from club managers asking why extra blood tests were being done on members who only wanted COVID-19 tests [1].

"The defendant took advantage of patients desperate for COVID-19 tests at the height of the pandemic to bill Medicare for unnecessary blood tests," said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division [1].

The person convicted

Joseph Rodriguez, 58, of Coral Springs [1][2]:

• Verdict: Found guilty by a federal jury on Oct. 6, 2026, of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and six substantive counts of health care fraud. WPBF reported the trial began Sept. 30 [3].
• Possible penalty: Up to 10 years in prison on each count. A judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
• Sentencing: The Justice Department says a hearing will be scheduled for a date in January 2027.
• Investigators: FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
• Prosecutors: Assistant Deputy Chief James V. Hayes and Trial Attorney Claire Horrell of the Fraud Division's Health Care Fraud Section.

WPBF reported that it contacted Rodriguez's attorney for comment and was awaiting a response [3]. (WPBF's story gave his age as 50; the Justice Department and CBS12 give it as 58, which we use here.)

Red flags for patients

• More blood drawn than the test you agreed to needs, or tubes being filled without explanation.
• Free or "no-cost" testing events that ask for your Medicare number, especially when organized by a marketer rather than your own doctor.
• A doctor's name on your paperwork or claims that you have never seen.
• Tests you didn't request showing up on a Medicare Summary Notice or Explanation of Benefits: hormone panels, heavy-metal screens, genetic tests and similar.

What to do

1. Read your Medicare statements. Compare each service with what you actually received. Medicare explains how to report suspected fraud and abuse on its website [4].
2. Ask questions at the event. You can refuse any test you did not ask for and ask who ordered it.
3. Guard your Medicare number like a credit card number. Don't give it to people at events, on the phone or at your door unless you know they are your provider.
4. Report suspected fraud to HHS-OIG, which takes tips online and by phone [5], and to Medicare [4].
5. Tell your community. In this case, club managers' questions and patient complaints became trial evidence [1].

Case status (as of Oct. 9, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 9, 2026	Source
Joseph Rodriguez, 58, Coral Springs, Fla.	U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida	Convicted by jury Oct. 6, 2026, of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and six counts of health care fraud; sentencing expected to be scheduled in January 2027; may appeal	[1], [2], [3]

Statuses can change, including through post-trial motions and appeal.

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, "Florida Laboratory Vice President and Marketer Convicted of Medicare Fraud for COVID-19 Testing Scheme," Oct. 7, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/florida-laboratory-vice-president-and-marketer-convicted-medicare-fraud-covid-19-testing
2. Justin Backer, "South Florida marketer convicted in $15M COVID testing scheme targeting seniors," CBS12, Oct. 7, 2026. https://cbs12.com/news/local/south-florida-marketer-convicted-in-15m-covid-testing-scheme-targeting-seniors-florida-news-local-news-covid-19-pandemic-news-florida-crime
3. "South Florida resident convicted in $15.7 million COVID-19 testing fraud scheme in West Palm Beach area," WPBF, updated Oct. 7, 2026. https://www.wpbf.com/article/joseph-rodriguez-florida-convicted-157-million-covid-19-testing-fraud-country-club/74070273
4. Medicare.gov, "Reporting Medicare fraud & abuse," accessed Oct. 9, 2026. https://www.medicare.gov/basics/reporting-medicare-fraud-and-abuse
5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, "Report Fraud, Waste, and Abuse," accessed Oct. 9, 2026. https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/

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