Jury Convicts Gainesville Equipment Company Owner in $8.6 Million Medicare Brace Scheme That Used Bought Prescriptions

Published Oct. 28, 2026. Case statuses are current as of that date.

If a box of knee, back or wrist braces has ever shown up at your door when no doctor ordered them, this case is about how that happens. A federal jury in Florida has convicted a Gainesville woman in a scheme that prosecutors say billed Medicare more than $8.6 million for braces patients did not want or need, using prescriptions bought from telemarketers. Some of those prescriptions were forged, and some of the calls behind them were allegedly faked.

Sophie Dufort, 57, of Gainesville, Florida, who owned one durable medical equipment (DME) company and managed several others, was convicted on five counts, the Justice Department announced on Oct. 27, 2026 [1]. Prosecutors say she conspired with Paula Pirone, 70, of Ocala, Florida, and others.

Important: Dufort has been convicted by a jury but not yet sentenced. Pirone was charged in the same indictment; the Oct. 27 releases do not state the outcome of her case, so her status is pending and she is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

How the scheme worked, step by step

According to court documents and trial evidence summarized by the Justice Department [1]:

1. The calls. Purported marketing companies made "high pressure and manipulative" telemarketing calls to get Medicare beneficiaries' information.
2. The paperwork. The marketing companies paid medical practitioners to sign brace prescriptions without contacting or evaluating patients, or stole doctors' credentials to forge prescriptions.
3. The purchase. Dufort and her co-conspirators illegally bought those prescriptions for their DME companies.
4. The shipment and the bill. The companies shipped braces to beneficiaries and billed Medicare, even though no doctor had examined the patients and the patients did not want or need the braces.
5. The brush-off. When people complained and tried to return the braces, "they would just tell [them] to just get rid of them or . . . just pass them down," so the companies would not have to repay Medicare.

Two details from the trial stand out. When confronted with complaints that the voice on purported call recordings didn't match the beneficiary's voice, one co-conspirator explained that "some of the calls from overseas would be faked" and used to justify a bogus prescription. And a medical expert testified that the combinations of braces involved could be "very dangerous" for elderly Medicare patients [1].

The indictment, filed in June 2025 in the Ocala Division of the Middle District of Florida, describes the alleged conspiracy as running from about September 2019 through about December 2021 [3].

The people charged and their status

Sophie Dufort, 57, of Gainesville, Fla. Convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, two counts of health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay illegal kickbacks, and one count of paying illegal kickbacks. She faces up to 20 years on the fraud conspiracy count and up to 10 years on each health care fraud and kickback count. Sentencing is scheduled for January 2027 [1] [2].

Paula Pirone, 70, of Ocala, Fla. Named with Dufort as a defendant in the indictment, case number 5:25-cr-00087 [3]. When the two were charged in the 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, the announcement, as republished by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, said that "according to the indictment, Pirone and Dufort owned and operated DME companies" that paid kickbacks for signed doctors' orders [5]. The Oct. 27 releases say only that Dufort conspired with Pirone and do not say whether Pirone was tried, pleaded guilty, or has a separate schedule. Status pending; she is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The case was investigated by the HHS Office of Inspector General and the FBI. Trial Attorney Jody King of the Fraud Division's Health Care Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hamilton are prosecuting [1]. News4JAX also reported the verdict [4].

Red flags

These are general warning signs of this kind of scheme; not every one is alleged in this case.

• An unsolicited call offering a "free" or "no cost" brace, often after you've answered a health survey or ad.
• A caller who asks for your Medicare number to "check eligibility" or "send your brace."
• A package of medical equipment you didn't order from a doctor you know.
• A "doctor" who never examined you but somehow signed a prescription.
• A company that tells you to keep or throw away equipment you try to return.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Hang up on unsolicited callers offering medical equipment, tests or supplies.
2. Guard your Medicare number like a credit card number.
3. Read your Medicare Summary Notice or check claims at Medicare.gov for equipment you didn't get or didn't want.
4. Refuse or return unordered equipment and report it; don't just pass it along.
5. Report suspected Medicare fraud to 1-800-MEDICARE, to the HHS Office of Inspector General at 1-800-HHS-TIPS or oig.hhs.gov, or to your state's Senior Medicare Patrol.
6. Report other scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Older adults can call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311.

Case status (as of Oct. 28, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status	Source
Sophie Dufort, 57, of Gainesville, Fla.	U.S. District Court, M.D. Fla. (Ocala Division), 5:25-cr-00087	Convicted by jury on 5 counts (announced Oct. 27, 2026); sentencing January 2027	[1]
Paula Pirone, 70, of Ocala, Fla.	Same	Charged in indictment; current status not stated in Oct. 27 releases (pending); presumed innocent	[1] [3]

Statuses can change.

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, "Gainesville Woman Convicted in $8.6M Medicare Fraud Scheme," Oct. 27, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/gainesville-woman-convicted-86m-medicare-fraud-scheme
2. U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida, "Gainesville Woman Convicted in $8.6M Medicare Fraud Scheme," Oct. 27, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/gainesville-woman-convicted-86m-medicare-fraud-scheme
3. Indictment, United States v. Paula Pirone and Sophie Dufort, No. 5:25-cr-00087 (M.D. Fla., filed June 12, 2025), posted by the U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/criminal/media/1405656/dl?inline=
4. Jonathan Lundy, "Gainesville medical equipment company owner convicted in $8.6M Medicare fraud scheme," News4JAX, Oct. 27, 2026. https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2026/10/27/gainesville-medical-equipment-company-owner-convicted-in-86m-medicare-fraud-scheme/
5. National Insurance Crime Bureau, "National Health Care Fraud Takedown Results In 324 Defendants Charged In Connection With Over $14.6 Billion In Alleged Fraud" (republished Justice Department announcement), 2025. https://www.nicb.org/news/regional-news/national-health-care-fraud-takedown-results-324-defendants-charged-connection

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