A businessman from Booneville has admitted to scamming millions of dollars from Medicare.
Keaton Langston, 39, made headlines last month when the U.S. Department of Justice named him as a defendant in an ongoing $51 million healthcare fraud case that also involved the leader of one of America’s most notorious mob families.
According to an April report from Politico, Langston and Florida businessman Thomas Farese, a high-ranking member of the Colombo crime family, were accused of being part of a scheme to use a clinical lab, pharmacies, and medical equipment supply companies to submit bogus claims to both federal and private health care companies.
The report added that Jim Biden, the brother of President Joe Biden, allegedly aided Langston and Farese in pitching services of Langston’s medical lab testing business to a hospital chain. Jim Biden and Langston’s father, Joey Langston, are longtime friends with the elder Langston pleading guilty in 2008 for conspiracy to bribe a Hinds County judge.
Court documents, this week, revealed that Langston pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud as he netted over $10 million through the scheme. The charge is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain from the offense, whichever is greatest.
While Langston’s sentencing isn’t until Oct. 10, 2024, Farese has yet to appear in court.
