New Jersey Marketing Executives Sentenced in $127 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

Operators of Empire Pain Center Holdings sentenced to prison and face $127 million in restitution for orchestrating nationwide DME fraud involving kickbacks and false claims.

NEWARK, N.J. — Two operators of a New Jersey-based marketing company have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a large-scale health care fraud and kickback conspiracy that led to more than $127 million in false claims to federal health benefit programs, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

Eric Karlewicz, also known as “Anthony Mazza,” 46, of Rockland County, New York, was sentenced to 51 months in prison, and Nicco Romanowski, 33, of Roswell, Georgia, received an 80-month prison term. Both defendants previously pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute and conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Their sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Esther Salas.

Between June 2017 and May 2019, Karlewicz and Romanowski used their New Jersey marketing firm, Empire Pain Center Holdings LLC, to orchestrate a nationwide scheme involving durable medical equipment (DME) companies, telemedicine services, and medical professionals. The defendants targeted Medicare and TRICARE beneficiaries, coercing them into accepting DME such as braces for the back, shoulders, and knees—regardless of medical necessity.

Empire employees were incentivized with bonuses and commissions to maximize beneficiary participation. The company then paid telemedicine firms, which in turn paid kickbacks to physicians for signing off on DME prescriptions without conducting consultations. These prescriptions were sent to DME suppliers, who submitted fraudulent reimbursement claims to government health programs and returned a portion of the proceeds to Empire as part of the kickback arrangement.

Empire received over $63 million in kickback payments. In total, Karlewicz and Romanowski caused the submission of over $127 million in false claims. Federal investigators stated that funds from the scheme were used to purchase luxury vehicles, including a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, and BMW.

In addition to the prison sentences, Judge Salas imposed three years of supervised release for each defendant and ordered restitution totaling $127.6 million. Karlewicz was further ordered to forfeit more than $63 million, while Romanowski must forfeit more than $5.5 million.

Karlewicz and Empire also entered into a civil settlement agreement with the U.S. government, admitting to violations of the False Claims Act. The settlement includes a $63.8 million consent judgment. The resolution of the civil case follows a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act by Robert Jackson Tyler, Jr., who will receive a share of the government’s recovery.

The criminal investigation was led by special agents of the FBI’s Newark Field Office, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Prosecution of the criminal case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine M. Romano and Senior Trial Counsel Barbara Ward, while the civil case was managed by Assistant U.S. Attorney David V. Simunovich and Trial Attorney Martha Glover of the DOJ’s Civil Fraud Section.