Former Florida Broker and Texas Man Convicted in ACA Scheme That Paid $180M

A federal jury in south Florida this week convicted a formerly licensed insurance broker and the head of a marketing firm for their roles in a years-long scheme to fraudulently enroll homeless people in Affordable Care Act insurance plans.

Cory Lloyd, 46, of Stuart, Florida, and Steven Strong, 42, of Mansfield, Texas, signed up enough people for the federal government to pay $180 million in tax-credit subsidies for the health insurance, generating millions of dollars in commissions, federal prosecutors said.

The tax credits are offered to insurance companies in the form of a payment toward the monthly premium, the U.S. Department of Justice explained in a statement. Evidence showed that Lloyd and Strong conspired to enroll consumers in ACA plans by submitting applications for individuals whose income did not meet the minimum requirements to be eligible for the subsidies.

Lloyd received commissions and other payments from an insurance company in exchange for enrolling consumers in the ACA plans. In turn, he paid commissions to Strong in exchange for consumer referrals.

“The defendants exploited a health care safety net designed for working families to carry out a $233 million scheme to defraud taxpayers,” said Acting Assistant U.S. Attorney General Matthew Galeotti. “The defendants’ scheme targeted vulnerable people, including those suffering financial hardship, drug addictions and mental health disorders, to line their own pockets.”

Marketers offered bribes in the form of cash, gift cards, food and alcohol to induce people to agree to enroll; coached consumers on how to respond to application questions to maximize the subsidy amount; and provided addresses and Social Security numbers that did not match, the Feb. 12 indictment shows.

Lloyd formed Strong Opportunities, known as FloridaCare Insurance, the indictment notes.

Florida’s Department of Financial Services’ license records show that Lloyd once held life, health and general lines licenses two decades ago, but they were canceled by administrative actions at some point.

Lloyd held appointments with dozens of property-casualty insurers, many as recently as 2022, the DFS site shows.

Topics Texas Agencies Florida