Here, the executive vice president of an insurance brokerage firm pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme to submit fraudulent applications to enroll individuals in ACA plans.
The purpose of the scheme was to obtain millions of dollars in commission payments from the insurance company that operated the ACA plans, according to an April 18 Justice Department news release. The federal government paid at least $133.9 million in subsidies for fraudulently enrolled beneficiaries.
Dafud Iza, 54, of Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of major fraud against the United States, according to the release. Mr. Iza was the executive vice president of the insurance brokerage firm, which is unnamed in court documents.
In furtherance of the scheme, Iza and his accomplices targeted vulnerable, low-income individuals experiencing homelessness, unemployment, and mental health and substance abuse disorders, and knew that “street marketers” working on their behalf offered bribes to induce those individuals to enroll in subsidized ACA plans. Marketers working for Iza’s accomplices coached consumers on how to respond to application questions to maximize the subsidy amount paid by the federal government and provided addresses and social security numbers that did not match the consumers purportedly applying.
Iza pleaded guilty to one count of major fraud against the United States and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
