New York Resident Arrested for $17M Healthcare Fraud Scheme at Dallas Airport

TL/DR –

Robert Lake, 62, of East Rockaway, New York, has been arrested in Dallas Fort Worth International Airport for healthcare fraud. Lake, a licensed prosthetist and orthotist, had been indicted on October 18, 2025 for one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and three counts of healthcare fraud for purchasing doctors’ orders for medically unnecessary orthotic braces and submitting claims to Medicare through his company, TRISETO and ORTHO WORKS. He and his co-conspirator, Patrick Haydel, submitted over $17 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare, receiving $8 million in reimbursement.

62-year-old New York Resident Arrested for Federal Healthcare Fraud

Robert Lake, a 62-year-old man residing in East Rockaway, New York, was arrested upon his arrival at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport for federal healthcare fraud, as declared by U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. Lake had been indicted previously on October 18, 2025, for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and three counts of healthcare fraud itself.

As a licensed prosthetist and orthotist, Lake operated durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies, TRISETO and ORTHO WORKS. Between 2017 and July 2019, he bought doctors’ orders for medically unnecessary orthotic braces and submitted these claims to Medicare. Lake switched to selling doctors’ orders via his marketing company, CRANIAL SCIENTIFIC, after Medicare cancelled TRISETO’s enrollment in July 2019.

Lake is charged with conspiracy and healthcare fraud alongside Patrick Haydel, a resident of Houma, who has already pleaded guilty in the same fraudulent scheme. Both men came under scrutiny when physicians and Medicare beneficiaries raised complaints about unsolicited, unneeded DME. Following a government search of Haydel’s business, Lake transferred over $2 million to a Philippine account. Overall, fraudulent DME claims exceeding $17 million were submitted to Medicare by Lake and Haydel, resulting in more than $8 million in reimbursements.

If convicted, Lake could face up to ten years in prison per count, followed by three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans emphasized that being indicted is only a charge and guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. He commended the work of the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kelly Walters of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Moses, Healthcare Fraud Coordinator for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

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