Two Orlando-area men have pleaded guilty in a scheme that allegedly paid a Department of Veterans Affairs employee to steer veterans toward a local holistic medicine clinic. The case involved at least $175,172 in kickbacks and nearly $12 million in VA-paid claims tied to those referrals.
The plea announcement came Thursday from federal prosecutors, who identified the defendants as Heriberto L. Rivera, CEO of Family Integrative Medicine of Orlando, LLC, and Laurent Cassagnol, a VA employee in Orlando.
CEO and VA Employee from Orlando Plead Guilty to Paying and Receiving Illegal Health Care Kickbacks and Bribes https://t.co/TeaS3d51HY
— USAO Middle Florida (@USAO_MDFL) July 30, 2026
How the VA referral scheme allegedly worked
According to the court filing, Cassagnol worked as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant for the VA Community Care Program, while Rivera ran Family Integrative Medicine of Orlando. The alleged conspiracy lasted from about July 2019 through December 2023, with Cassagnol steering VA patients to the clinic and Rivera paying him personally and through a company called LC Management Group…