WEST MONROE, La. (KTVE/KARD) — A Louisiana man faces a decade in prison after pleading guilty to stealing millions of dollars from Medicare, authorities said.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that Michael L. Riggins, 62, of West Monroe, pleaded guilty in connection with a five-year scheme to submit millions of dollars in fraudulent claims to Medicare for expensive and medically unnecessary medical equipment.

According to court documents, Riggins was the owner of Bluewater Healthcare (Bluewater), a durable medical equipment supply company in West Monroe.

From 2018 to 2023, Riggins allegedly paid for doctors’ orders for medically unnecessary equipment and tricked doctors into signing orders and certificates of medical necessity in order to bill for it.

Despite receiving hundreds of complaints regarding the fraudulent orders, Riggins submitted over $3.8 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for supplying the equipment and was reimbursed over $1.8 million, prosecutors said.

Riggins faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 2.

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