Members of Congress are now calling for an increase in oversight and reform after a Haitian migrant was convicted in a massive healthcare fraud conspiracy that prosecutors have revealed involves over $58 million in false claims targeting Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers through utilization of a federal drug discount program.
Jean Jethro Alexandre, along with several co-conspirators, were accused by prosecutors in 2025 of recruiting a number of fake patients and offering them financial kickbacks if they accepted fraudulent prescriptions. Most of the drugs were treatments for HIV and AIDS and were written by nurse practitioners who were also involved in the scheme.
Alexandre would then receive money through insurance reimbursements for filling the fake prescriptions. The funds the Haitian immigrant siphoned from the program were used to pay for a luxurious life that included the purchase of fancy cars, investment properties, and a mansion. Alexandre’s case is now putting the 340B Drug Pricing Program, a decades-old federal initiative designed to assist safety-net providers in serving low-income patients, under the microscope.
According to a report from Fox News, the program is coming under heavy criticism by lawmakers and industry groups who have called it out for having weak oversight that has led to bad actors exploiting the system. Advocates who have called for the program to be overhauled say Alexandre’s case is evidence that it needs significant changes to lower the risk of fraud.
“The 340B program was created with good intentions to help vulnerable and underserved patients access care, but unfortunately, it has evolved into a massive, poorly supervised program with weak transparency and accountability safeguards,” Rep. Diana Harshbarger, who is a pharmacist, went on to say in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“Cases like this demonstrate how the current structure can create opportunities for bad actors to exploit deeply discounted drugs, questionable contract pharmacy arrangements and opaque reimbursement practices for personal profit,” she continued. “When there is limited federal oversight, little transparency into how 340B revenues are used, and enormous financial spreads between discounted acquisition costs and insurer reimbursements, it should not surprise anyone that fraudsters see the program as a target.”
Alexandre was able to purchase drugs at a discounted price by using a nonprofit health clinic he secretly co-owned through the 340B Drug Pricing Program. He then had the prescriptions filled by pharmacies, who provided his clinic with reimbursements paid by insurers, including both Medicaid and Medicare. The scammers then pocketed the difference between what he paid for the medications and what he was paid in reimbursements.
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The Government Accountability Office said that this is usually a legitimate way for healthcare providers to generate revenue. What made Alexandre’s actions illegal was that the prescriptions were fake. Prosecutors allege that in some cases the drugs were destroyed after being given to a network of fraudulent patients.
“Alexandre’s blatantly setting up a fraudulent medical clinic and disregarding important safety net programs, as well as finite taxpayer dollars, shows the need for the Committee to continue its important work in cracking down on harmful schemes like this one,” Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., a member of the health subcommittee of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, explained.
“Although I am supportive of the 340B Drug Pricing Program, this instance of fraud is yet another example of how the program has strayed far from its initial intent and is something my Health Subcommittee will continue to monitor closely,” the congressman said. The money Alexandre pocketed was used to purchase several luxury cars including a Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, and a six-passenger golf cart-style vehicle.
He also bought a $2.5 million 4,452-square foot mansion located on the southern coast of Florida that came fully loaded with a pool and spa. Once Alexandre has served his 10 years behind bars, he will then be handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and be processed for deportation to his home country. Alexandre will be barred from reentering the United States without express written permission from relevant authorities.
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