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The justice system just caught up with another petty crew that treated Medicare like a personal piggy bank. A Cape Cod man, Leo Anzivino Jr., pleaded guilty this week to taking part in a scheme that shoved fake durable medical equipment claims into Medicare and then tried to hide the money.
The crime and the plea
Federal prosecutors say Anzivino pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role with Advanced Medical Supply Corp. He admitted acting as a straw owner while others ran the operation behind the scenes. Court papers show the company submitted about $6.3 million in claims to Medicare and received roughly $2.8 million in payments tied to those claims. He faces up to 10 years in prison, and a judge will decide his sentence when he is sentenced on January 21, 2027.
How the scam worked
Straw ownership and fake orders
The scheme used a familiar playbook: enroll a company with Medicare, bill for knee braces and back braces that were never needed, and back the claims with forged or fake physician orders. Anzivino signed Medicare enrollment and bank documents that made him look like the owner, while the real managers stayed hidden. Victims — real Medicare beneficiaries — got boxes of equipment they never ordered and left notes saying “did not order” or “FRAUD!!.” That isn’t a business plan. It’s theft dressed up as health care.
Money moves and seizures
Prosecutors traced wire transfers that moved fraud proceeds between New Hampshire and Massachusetts accounts. Documents say Anzivino wired nearly $1.5 million in three transactions after billing privileges were revoked, even as messages show he worried others would “come back for it.” The government already seized about $353,768 tied to the scheme. These seizure numbers are a start, but they are peanuts next to the damage done to trust in Medicare.
Enforcement is finally catching up
Credit where it’s due: the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Hampshire, HHS‑OIG, the FBI, IRS‑Criminal Investigation and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service all pushed this case forward. This prosecution fits the new, tougher federal posture on health‑care fraud that the administration says it wants — part of a wider task force to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse. If that means more crooked operators end up in federal court instead of profiting from seniors, so much the better.
Bottom line for taxpayers and seniors
Medicare fraud is not a victimless crime. It steals from taxpayers and puts seniors at risk of getting unwanted equipment and wasted medical attention. Prosecuting straw owners and following the money helps, but CMS and investigators need better detection tools and faster action. The guilty plea is a win for enforcement, but the real victory will be when these scams stop being profitable — and when the people who thought they could game Medicare learn the system will come for them, every single time.
