Bank Insider Conviction Exposes $8 Billion Medicare Fraud Laundering Network

A former US bank relationship manager has pleaded guilty to laundering more than $8 million in Medicare fraud proceeds on behalf of a transnational criminal organisation, marking a significant escalation in enforcement against insider-enabled financial crime. The plea, entered on 3 February 2026, represents the first time the Department of Justice Health Care Fraud Unit has secured a conviction against a former bank employee for conspiring to launder health care fraud proceeds.

Renat Abramov, 36, of Brooklyn, abused his position at a US bank branch in Sheepshead Bay to facilitate an international fraud and laundering scheme uncovered under Operation Gold Rush. According to court documents, Abramov was a member of a transnational criminal organisation that allegedly submitted more than $10 billion in fraudulent Medicare claims by stealing the identities of over one million Americans, including elderly and disabled victims across all 50 states.

The scheme relied on systematic exploitation of weaknesses in bank onboarding and transaction monitoring controls. Abramov opened accounts for individuals, many of whom were not lawfully present in the US, who posed as owners of sham medical equipment companies. These entities were supported by falsified corporate registration documents, enabling the accounts to pass initial due diligence checks. Fraudulently obtained insurance payments were deposited into these accounts, benefiting from the perceived legitimacy of Medicare and established insurance company payment streams.

Once funds were credited, the criminal organisation rapidly moved the proceeds through layered transfers, including offshore accounts and cryptocurrency, obscuring the audit trail and frustrating detection efforts. Prosecutors allege that Abramov’s role was central to bypassing internal bank controls, demonstrating how insider access can materially undermine even mature compliance frameworks.

Abramov pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, an offence carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for 20 April 2026, with the federal court to consider the US Sentencing Guidelines and statutory factors.

The case was announced by the Department of Justice Criminal Division and the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, with investigations led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and HHS OIG. Prosecutors emphasised that the conviction underscores the growing focus on financial institutions and individual employees who enable large scale fraud schemes, whether through active participation or wilful blindness.

From a financial crime compliance perspective, the case highlights persistent vulnerabilities around account opening, beneficial ownership verification and the treatment of apparently low risk payment sources such as government backed health care reimbursements. It also reinforces the increasing convergence of health care fraud, money laundering and crypto enabled value transfer, all of which demand integrated, intelligence led controls rather than siloed compliance responses.

As enforcement agencies continue to prioritise complex, cross border fraud schemes, this conviction sends a clear message that bank insiders are firmly within the enforcement perimeter and that failures in governance, culture and controls can carry severe individual consequences.

Read the press release here.