Feds Nab Russian National In $400 Million Medicare Scheme
(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
A Russian national appeared in a Houston, Texas court Thursday, accused of submitting more than $400 million in fraudulent Medicare claims.
Nikolai Buzolin, 38, allegedly registered Verisola, Inc. in Houston in July 2025 as a fake durable medical equipment company, according to a Department of Justice press release. Prosecutors say he opened six separate bank accounts at different financial institutions in the company’s name within nine days between July and August 2025, and added two more accounts in September and October.
#BREAKING After his company allegedly submitted more than $384 million in fraudulent insurance claims in less than 6 months, Russian national Nikolai Buzolin is in jail thanks to an airport takedown executed by @FBILosAngeles.
An investigation by FBI Houston, @OIGatHHS, the… pic.twitter.com/10B7qum8Dy
— FBI Houston (@FBIHouston) March 5, 2026
Buzolin reportedly submitted false documentation claiming he was the company’s sole owner, though he was not, in order to hide the true ownership and control of Verisola. Between August 2025 and January 2026, Verisola allegedly submitted over $400 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare Advantage Organizations for equipment such as orthotic braces and glucose monitors, which “were never actually provided to patients.” The companies reimbursed Verisola “at least $1.7 million,” which Buzolin deposited into the various bank accounts. The DOJ said he “wired at least $1.2 million of fraud proceeds to overseas entities.”
Buzolin traveled from Houston to Los Angeles, where the FBI arrested him after he bought a same-day, one-way ticket to Moscow, Russia. He faces charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and, if convicted, could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
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