Oklahoma chiropractor sentenced to 14 years in prison for healthcare fraud

The Lawton Constitution, By Mike W. Ray, October 9, 2026

An Oklahoma chiropractor who operated a business was sentenced Thursday in Florida to 14 years in federal prison for his role in a three-year, multimillion-dollar scheme that attempted to bilk Medicare; TRICARE, a health care program of the U.S. Department of Defense; and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA).

Dr. Mark Loftis, 39 — a Yale native who reportedly lived in Cushing and operated a chiropractic company in Drumright — was snared in an investigation into a fraud conspiracy that involved billings for more than $30 million for orthotics braces, continuous glucose monitors, and other durable medical equipment (DME) that beneficiaries did not want or need.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Loftis and his co-conspirators did not disclose to Medicare the ownership and management of the DME company Back Pain Home Supplies LLC, d/b/a EZ Medical Supply, in Drumright. “In reality,” another person was the managing employee.

It was shown that as “a part of the conspiracy,” Loftis “would and did pay illegal kickbacks and bribes to co-conspirator marketers in exchange for doctors’ orders for braces” and other durable medical equipment. Loftis and his co-conspirators hid from Medicare that unenrolled entities were billing claims through the DME company.

Evidence showed Loftis paid more than $1 million in illegal kickbacks, including through a shell marketing company, to marketers, purported telemedicine companies, and a call center that persuaded elderly and disabled Americans to disclose their personal information and receive DME they did not need.

Loftis and his co-conspirators also purchased sham doctors’ orders for orthotic braces, continuous glucose monitors, and DME that were generated by telemedicine doctors and nurse practitioners who never examined, and often never spoke to, the beneficiaries.

Evidence developed in the case showed that in 2020, Loftis “unlawfully caused part of the $133,715 that Health and Human Services disbursed from the Provider Relief Fund to be converted to his own use and the use of others … rather in pandemic relief efforts.”

The indictment — issued Dec. 17, 2025, in Florida’s Middle District, Tampa Division — alleged that from September 2017 through October 2020, Loftis and his co-conspirators sent Medicare more than 7,000 claims for more than 23,000 durable medical equipment items, resulting in more than $30 million in fraudulent billings to Medicare, TRICARE and CHAMPVA, and more than $8 million in paid claims “that all ran through” Loftis’s bank accounts.

Loftis’s DME company submitted invoices for “unnecessary and unwanted durable medical equipment for thousands of beneficiaries living in every state in the U.S. and in four territories,” investigators discovered.

He “billed Medicare for thousands of false and fraudulent claims predicate on lies — lies about who ran and owned his company, lies about which entities claims were being submitted through Back Pain, lies about the medical necessity of the claims, and lies about how the doctors’ orders were obtained,” federal prosecutors wrote.

Loftis “purchased sensitive personal information about beneficiaries from overseas and domestic telemarketing call centers, signatures of medical professionals from purported telemedicine companies, and doctors’ orders from marketers.”

Loftis used his “purported marketing company” LJM Health Group as “a pass-through entity for Back Pain Home Supplies…”

He and his co-conspirators submitted more than $30 million in false and fraudulent claims and were paid more than $8 million. They frequently billed for multiple orthotic braces at a time, including, in one example, eight braces for a single beneficiary.

After a 12-day jury trial that ended in July, Loftis was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. In addition to his 14-year prison sentence, Loftis was ordered to pay – jointly and severally with Zeeshan Hayat – more than $8 million in restitution to Medicare, Tricare and CHAMPVA, and to forfeit more than $560,000.

Loftis was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service, and the court recommended he be incarcerated in the medium-security federal prison at El Reno “or as close to Drumright as possible.”

The list of co-conspirators in Loftis’s case is lengthy.

Zeeshan Hayat and his wife, Salma Karina Hayat, lived in British Columbia, Canada, and co-founded Prizm Media, which “markets itself as a demand generation and technology company with a focus on creating solutions that aid consumers with chronic illnesses.”

Both were charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and two counts of soliciting and receiving kickbacks. Both pleaded guilty in Florida’s Middle District federal court to all three complaints.

Salma Hayat was sentenced to time served and was ordered to forfeit $258,000 to the U.S. Government.

Zeeshan Hayat was sentenced Aug. 12, 2026, to three concurrent terms of two years in federal prison. He and his wife also were ordered jointly to pay $16.15 million in restitution.

Zeeshan Hayat also is required to pay – collectively and individually with 18 other defendants in cases filed in Texas, Florida, Massachusetts and California – restitution in amounts ranging from $4,000 to $5,999,594 and totaling almost $8.4 million. Zeeshan and Salma Hayat also were ordered to pay $10.5 million in restitution “jointly and severally” along with Mitchell Chow.

Federal prosecutors in Florida secured guilty pleas from seven other individuals “who did business” with the Hayats. All seven admitted participating in a conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Samuel Friedman was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay $3.42 million in restitution: half to Medicare and half to CHAMPVA.

Jonathan Rouffe was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to repay $10.7 million in restitution.

Fernando Mendez was ordered to spend 42 months in federal prison and pay $4.1 million in restitution.

Adam Kovacsik was given a 12-month federal prison sentence and ordered to pay $1.57 million in restitution to Medicare.

Shane Paul Camus was sentenced to 33 months in prison; Pablo Camus, 51 months in prison; and Daniel D. Espinoza, 40 months in prison. All three are required, individually and collectively, to pay $6.8 million in restitution.

In South Carolina, Andrew Chmiel pleaded guilty to a federal felony charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Additionally, 16 other people who also “did business with” the Hayats have been charged in California, Texas, New Jersey and Florida.

The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force has brought charges against more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007.

In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes.

“Healthcare fraud drains millions of dollars from federally funded programs, and we all pay the price,” said Special Agent in Charge Rodney Crawford of the FBI Tampa Field Office.

“As the law enforcement arm of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service is committed to safeguarding the integrity of the TRICARE program,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Nakia M. Alexander of the DCIS Southeast Field Office. “This investigation is an example of a healthcare fraud scheme that directly affected American service members and their families.”

“Fraud schemes targeting VA programs and services compromise their integrity and divert funds from veterans who rely on these benefits,” said Inspector General Cheryl L. Mason, Department of Veterans Affairs.

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