A Stuart insurance broker and a Texas marketing executive were each sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted for their roles in a yearslong scheme that defrauded the Affordable Care Act program of more than $180 million in federal subsidies.
Cory Lloyd, 47, of Stuart, and Steven Strong, 43, of Mansfield, Texas, were convicted in November 2025 of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Strong was also convicted of two counts of money laundering. Both were ordered to pay $180.6 million in restitution.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the two men sought more than $233 million in fraudulent ACA plan subsidies, of which the federal government paid at least $180 million.
Prosecutors said Lloyd, the president of an insurance brokerage firm, and Strong, the CEO of a marketing company, targeted low-income and vulnerable individuals, including people experiencing homelessness, unemployment and mental health or substance abuse disorders. Through marketers working on their behalf, they sometimes offered bribes to persuade individuals to enroll in fully subsidized ACA health plans.
Authorities said the defendants submitted false applications on behalf of consumers whose incomes did not meet minimum eligibility requirements. In some cases, individuals enrolled in those plans experienced disruptions to their medical care or lost coverage under Medicaid or other programs, including access to treatment for opioid use disorders, mental health conditions and infectious diseases.
“Preying upon medically compromised consumers to rob hundreds of millions from taxpayer-funded programs is evil and unforgivable,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “Fraud schemes like this rob citizens and shake faith in our institutions — today’s sentencing is the latest example of this DOJ’s commitment to fighting fraud nationwide.”
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said the defendants “will rightly spend decades in prison for taking advantage of thousands of vulnerable people and stealing millions from a health care safety net designed for working families.”
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said the scheme relied on manipulating people facing significant hardship.
“They targeted individuals struggling with homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges, manipulated them for profit, and jeopardized their access to legitimate medical care,” he said, adding that the federal government paid out at least $180 million in fraudulent subsidies.
Evidence at trial showed Lloyd received commissions and other payments from an insurance company for enrolling consumers in ACA plans and then paid commissions to Strong for referrals. Prosecutors said the two used misleading sales scripts and encouraged consumers to state they would attempt to earn the minimum income required to qualify, even if they initially reported having no income.
Authorities also said the pair conspired to bypass federal income verification efforts and deliberately submitted thousands of Medicaid applications in ways that ensured denial, allowing them to enroll the same individuals in fully subsidized ACA plans outside the standard enrollment period and maximize commissions throughout the year.
Text messages presented at trial showed the men discussing profits and making disparaging remarks about the people they enrolled. In one exchange, Strong suggested sending marketers into hurricane shelters in Florida. Lloyd responded, “It’s a killer idea, if we could pull it off! … I want to rake the shelters! R*pe.” Strong replied, “Haha I’m not kidding,” and Lloyd confirmed, “Me either…let’s fuck em up.”
Prosecutors said the men used proceeds from the scheme to buy luxury homes, including a waterfront property in the Florida Keys, as well as an 80-foot yacht and a Tesla.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the case involved “stealing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars while endangering lives.”
Inspector General T. March Bell of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the defendants “designed a purposeful scheme to profit from human suffering,” while IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Guy Ficco said the sentences demonstrate that “cheating a federal program comes with serious consequences.”
A third defendant, Dafud Iza, previously pleaded guilty to major fraud against the United States and was sentenced to 35 months in prison.
The FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Assistant Chief Jamie de Boer and Trial Attorney D. Keith Clouser of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section prosecuted it, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove handled asset forfeiture.