NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A Suffolk man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud health insurance programs of more than $2 million through fraudulent claims for braces and other medical equipment, a release states.

40-year-old Julian Latty and his co-conspirator, 37-year-old Jordan Thomas Broome, formed a Virginia Beach company called Beach Medical Suppliers LLC, or Beach Medical, according to court documents.

The investigation started after individuals complained to Medicare that they were receiving braces they never requested. Latty and his co-conspirators had registered Beach Medical to bill Medicare for over $4 million in reimbursements for medical equipment such as back and knee braces, a release states.

They used stolen personal identifiable information, and paid doctors to sign prescriptions for braces for Medicare beneficiaries, a release states.

Between Dec. 4, 2018, and Oct. 7, 2020, Beach Medical billed Medicare for reimbursement for around 2,025 beneficiaries, using the doctor’s prescriptions. Beach Medical also billed other health care benefit programs for fake claims.

In December 2019, Latty and Broome met with an attorney who told them that its operations were likely illegal, a release states. However, they continued to file claims until federal authorities searched Beach Medical’s offices in September 2020.

In March 2023, Broome was sentenced to five and half years in prison. Latty is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 29, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.