Follow the Money: DOJ Secures First Conviction of a Banker for Laundering Healthcare Fraud Proceeds

On February 3, 2026, a New York-based banker, Renat Abramov, pleaded guilty to participating in a multi-defendant scheme to launder more than $8 million in fraudulently obtained Medicare reimbursements. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)’s press release, this is the “first time the [Criminal Division’s] Health Care Fraud Unit has charged and convicted a former bank employee for conspiring to launder health care fraud proceeds.” Below, we discuss the case, the cross-agency investigation behind it, and what it signals for healthcare fraud enforcement.

Operation Gold Rush and the National Healthcare Fraud Takedown

In June 2025, DOJ announced the results of its 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown (the Takedown), which it described as the largest coordinated enforcement action in U.S. history. The announcement highlighted charges against 324 defendants nationwide, involving multiple independent schemes totaling $14.6 billion in allegedly fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers.

At the heart of the Takedown was “Operation Gold Rush,” a multi-year, multi-agency investigation into a transnational criminal enterprise that allegedly orchestrated a large-scale durable medical equipment (DME) fraud scheme. Prosecutors alleged that the conspirators acquired more than 20 Medicare-registered DME companies, submitted bogus reimbursement claims for equipment never provided, and funneled the fraud proceeds to foreign accounts. In total, conspirators allegedly submitted $10.6 billion in fraudulent Medicare DME claims. DOJ described this figure as the largest loss amount ever charged in a healthcare fraud case.

But how did all that money get laundered?

Laundering the Healthcare Fraud Proceeds

Enter Abramov, a dual U.S. and Azerbaijani citizen and a relationship manager at a Brooklyn bank. According to court records, Abramov used his position to help launder the DME fraud proceeds by bypassing his bank’s anti-money laundering controls. Specifically, Abramov opened several accounts for individual conspirators who owned sham DME companies, notwithstanding that many of the conspirators were not lawfully present in the United States and did not provide the required IRS forms. Prosecutors alleged that Abramov knew about both the underlying Medicare fraud scheme and these deficiencies, as evidenced by thousands of Telegram messages he exchanged with the conspirators. Once Abramov opened the accounts, the conspirators funneled healthcare fraud proceeds into them, and later laundered the funds through foreign accounts and cryptocurrency. 

Signals for Healthcare Fraud Enforcement

Abramov’s conviction reinforces the government’s continued emphasis on healthcare fraud enforcement. By highlighting this case and its Takedown more generally, DOJ is signaling that it intends to hold accountable not only those who execute healthcare fraud schemes, but also those who facilitate and launder the proceeds. By charging a bank employee for enabling the laundering of Medicare fraud proceeds, prosecutors have endorsed an enforcement approach that treats healthcare fraud as a connected enterprise involving providers, intermediaries, and financial facilitators.

We will continue to monitor DOJ’s enforcement of healthcare fraud here on Enforcement Edge. For questions about this case or its implications, please contact the authors or any member of Arnold & Porter’s White Collar Defense & Investigations practice group.

* Bryan Borodkin contributed to this Blog. Bryan is an associate in Arnold & Porter’s New York office.

© Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP 2026 All Rights Reserved. This Blog post is intended to be a general summary of the law and does not constitute legal advice. You should consult with counsel to determine applicable legal requirements in a specific fact situation.