DOJ Secures First Conviction of a Banker for Laundering $8 million

On February 3, 2026, a New York-based banker, RENAT ABRAMOV, pleaded guilty to participating in a multi-defendant scheme to launder more than $8 million in fraudulently obtained Medicare reimbursements.

RENAT ABRAMOV is a dual U.S. and Azerbaijani citizen and was a relationship manager at a Brooklyn bank.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)’s press release, this is the

• “first time the [Criminal Division’s] Health Care Fraud Unit has charged and convicted a former bank employee for conspiring to launder health care fraud proceeds.”  
• https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/brooklyn-banker-pleads-guilty-laundering-proceeds-medicare-fraud-transnational-criminal

Abramov’s conviction reinforces the government’s continued emphasis on healthcare fraud enforcement.

• By highlighting this case and its Takedown more generally, DOJ is signalling that it intends to hold accountable
• Not only those who execute [healthcare] fraud schemes
• But also those who facilitate and launder the proceeds.
• By charging a bank employee for enabling the laundering of Medicare fraud proceeds,
• Prosecutors have endorsed an enforcement approach that treats healthcare fraud
• As a connected enterprise involving providers, intermediaries, and financial facilitators.

Operation Gold Rush and the National Healthcare Fraud Takedown

• In June 2025, DOJ announced the results of its 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown (the Takedown), which it described as the largest coordinated enforcement action in U.S. history.
• https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/national-health-care-fraud-takedown-results-324-defendants-charged-connection-over-146
• The announcement highlighted charges against 324 defendants nationwide, involving multiple independent schemes totalling $14.6 billion in allegedly fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers.
• At the heart of the Takedown was “Operation Gold Rush,” a multi-year, multi-agency investigation into a transnational criminal enterprise that allegedly orchestrated a large-scale durable medical equipment (DME) fraud scheme.

• Prosecutors alleged that the conspirators acquired more than 20 Medicare-registered DME companies, submitted bogus reimbursement claims for equipment never provided, and funnelled the fraud proceeds to foreign accounts.
• In total, conspirators allegedly submitted $10.6 billion in fraudulent Medicare DME claims. DOJ described this figure as the largest loss amount ever charged in a healthcare fraud case.

https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/2025-national-health-care-fraud-takedown

But how did all that money get laundered?

Laundering the Healthcare Fraud Proceeds

• According to court records, Abramov used his position to help launder the DME fraud proceeds by bypassing his bank’s anti-money laundering controls.
• https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit/2025-national-hcf-court-documents
• Specifically, Abramov opened several accounts for individual conspirators who owned sham DME companies, notwithstanding that many of the conspirators were not lawfully present in the United States and did not provide the required IRS forms.
• Prosecutors alleged that Abramov knew about both the underlying Medicare fraud scheme and these deficiencies, as evidenced by thousands of Telegram messages he exchanged with the conspirators.
• Once Abramov opened the accounts, the conspirators funnelled healthcare fraud proceeds into them and later laundered the funds through foreign accounts and cryptocurrency. 

The details

• As alleged in charging documents, the transnational criminal organisation (TCO) exploited the U.S. financial system using a range of tactics to circumvent internal controls at multiple banks.
• Abramov helped execute the scheme by opening bank accounts for individuals – many not lawfully present in the United States – who posed as owners of fake medical equipment companies using fake corporate registration documents.
• The bank accounts were used to deposit fraudulently obtained insurance checks, which appeared legitimate because they came from Medicare and established insurance companies.
• Once deposited, members of the TCO transferred the money into offshore accounts and cryptocurrency.

Sources

• https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/perspectives/blogs/enforcement-edge/2026/02/follow-the-money-doj-secures-first-conviction
• https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/2025-national-health-care-fraud-takedown