lawyer, courtroom

One of the biggest Medicare fraud cases in history is underway this week as former Miami businessman Philip Esformes is judged by a jury.

Jurors are being tasked with deciding whether the healthcare mogul led a decade-long conspiracy to bribe doctors and funnel patients back to his 16 Florida nursing homes, the Miami Herald reported. If convicted for the alleged $1 billion scheme, Esformes, 50, could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Attorneys have argued that Esformes, who’s been jailed since July 2016, is a businessman unaware whether services rendered were necessary or not. However, in her opening statement, prosecutor Elizabeth Young labeled him as the lynchpin in an elaborate effort to defraud the government.

“He was the mastermind, he made this happen,” Young said, according to the Herald. “He was the owner, operator of these facilities. He got the money from Medicare and Medicaid. He was involved in every step of the way.”

“He sold his own patients like cattle for money,” Young added later.

Two other key players in the effort — a former hospital leader and physician’s assistant — pled guilty for their roles last month, and could face years in prison. The trial is expected to last at least two months, with jurors set to hear from former nursing home residents and co-conspirators who are cooperating with the government.