Iowa Attorney Sentenced to Six Months in Medicaid Eligibility Fraud Involving Luxury Cars

Published Nov. 6, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

Elderly families sometimes hire lawyers to help qualify for Medicaid nursing-home coverage. On Sept. 28, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa announced that Timothy Mark Anderson, 67, of Garner, Iowa, an Iowa-licensed attorney, had been sentenced on Sept. 11, 2026, to six months in federal prison after pleading guilty on Oct. 30, 2025, to one count of making a false statement relating to a health care matter [1].

Status: Anderson has been convicted and sentenced. U.S. District Judge Leonard T. Strand also fined him $25,000, ordered $184,274.36 restitution to Iowa Medicaid, and imposed two years of supervised release. He was released on bond and must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date to be set. Case No. 25-CR-3053 [1].

How the scheme worked, according to the plea

According to evidence at the plea and sentencing [1]:

1. Anderson's practice included helping elderly clients with Medicaid eligibility. Iowa Medicaid generally exempts one automobile used for household transportation.
2. Between 2017 and 2022, Anderson told elderly individuals and heirs to engage in purported transactions with his luxury-vehicle collection: have the elder "buy" a Rolls-Royce or other luxury car, then "gift" it to heirs who "sold" it back to Anderson at a lower price. Purchasers generally never drove or even saw the cars.
3. In one 2021 example, Anderson deposited a $186,000 check from a wife into his personal savings and gave her a title to a 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V that had been wrecked two days earlier and was inoperable. He then wrote Iowa Medicaid that the Phantom V had a fair market value of $194,000, knowing that was not true.
4. Judge Strand found the luxury-vehicle sales to elderly Medicaid applicants were "obviously fraudulent and illegal."

The person sentenced

Timothy Mark Anderson, 67, Garner, Iowa. Iowa-licensed attorney. False statement relating to a health care matter; 6 months prison; $25,000 fine; restitution $184,274.36; 2 years supervised release; N.D. Iowa 25-CR-3053 [1].

Red flags in Medicaid planning

These are general warning signs, not claims about any client in this case.

• A planner who proposes paper-only "sales" of cars you never see or drive.
• Transfers timed solely to qualify for Medicaid without clear, lawful advice in writing.
• Documents sent to Medicaid that overstate an asset's value.

What to do

• Get a second opinion from an elder-law attorney unaffiliated with any vehicle seller.
• Report suspected Medicaid fraud to your state Medicaid fraud control unit and the FBI at ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Nov. 6, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status	Source
Timothy Mark Anderson, 67, Garner, Iowa	U.S. District Court, N.D. Iowa (Judge Leonard T. Strand), 25-CR-3053	Pleaded guilty Oct. 30, 2025; sentenced Sept. 11, 2026 to 6 months + 2 years supervised release; fine $25,000; restitution $184,274.36	[1]

Statuses can change, including through appeal.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa, "Iowa Attorney Sent to Federal Prison in Medicaid Fraud Scheme Involving His Rolls-Royce Vehicle Collection," Sept. 28, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndia/pr/iowa-attorney-sent-federal-prison-medicaid-fraud-scheme-involving-his-rolls-royce