The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., denounced this Tuesday that the Cuban government is running a network of durable medical equipment through shell companies in South Florida to defraud Medicare and Medicaid.
In statements released by the X account of the American political and health movement MAHA Action, RFK Jr. described the scheme in detail: companies that appear as suppliers of wheelchairs and knee braces, but that actually sell nothing and only exist to invoice nonexistent products to the federal government.
There is a whole criminal network directed by the Cuban government that sells poor quality medical equipment. Supposedly, these companies sell wheelchairs and knee braces, but they only have a list of patients. They charge Medicaid for them," declared the Secretary of Health and Human Services of the Trump administration.
Moreover, he revealed the alleged existence of infrastructure and logistical resources in support of the fraudulent scheme. "We found a hotel with one hundred twenty-nine (129) rooms, and each of them was owned by a durable medical equipment company," he stated.
"There are twice as many durable medical equipment companies in South Korea as there are McDonald's. And most of them don't sell anything. They are just there to siphon off federal government funds," said the secretary, lamenting the Biden administration's budget cuts for monitoring the integrity of government health insurance programs.
Her complaint adds to the recent allegations made by officials in the sector. The Medicare administrator had already warned that we believe that the Cuban government might be involved in this, indicating a coordinated operation from the island.
Previous investigations had documented specific cases of this type of fraud. One of the most striking revealed that a network managed to bill five million dollars monthly for non-existent equipment before fleeing to Cuba, highlighting the extent of the problem and the impunity with which those responsible operated.
In response to these types of schemes, the Trump administration has implemented a six-month national moratorium on the approval of new suppliers of durable medical equipment, aiming to curb the proliferation of phantom companies.
The phenomenon is not new. As early as 2009, federal authorities dismantled a network of 85 fake medical equipment companies linked to Cuban exiles, demonstrating that this type of fraud has been entrenched in South Florida for decades.
Condemnations for these offenses continue to accumulate in U.S. courts. Fernando Espinosa León was sentenced in March 2025 to five years in prison for his involvement in one of these fraudulent billing schemes.
Another recent case is that of Julián López, who received two and a half years in prison in May 2025 after being found guilty of defrauding the federal health system of tens of millions of dollars.
The allegations from RFK Jr. are part of a broader offensive by the Trump administration to strengthen oversight of public spending and curb the misuse of social programs, in a context where healthcare fraud has become an increasing concern for federal authorities.
The direct reference to the Cuban regime introduces a new element in the bilateral relationship, linking Havana not only with political or migratory issues but also with possible illicit operations that directly affect American taxpayers.
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