OWNER AND TWO TOP EXECUTIVES OF SOUTH FLORIDA HEALTH INSURANCE TELEMARKETING BUSINESS INDICTED FOR FRAUD

EAST  ST.  LOUIS,  Ill.  –  Yesterday  afternoon,  a  federal  grand  jury  in  East  St.  Louis  
returned  an indictment  charging  a  former  owner  and  two  top  tier  executives  of  a  south  
Florida  telemarketing business known as Simple Health with federal fraud offense.   Former owner 
Steven Dorfman, 37, of Fort Lauderdale, FL, former Chief Compliance Officer, Candida L. Girouard, 
45, of Valrico, FL, and former Vice President of Sales John A. Sand, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, FL, 
were all charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, four counts of mail 
fraud, and eight counts of wire fraud.
Simple Health, also known as Health Benefits One, sold health insurance policies over the phone. 
The  vast  majority  of  the  policies  sold  by  Simple  Health  were  limited  indemnity  plans.  
Limited indemnity plans have a relatively low cap on the amount of medical expenses they will 
cover.   After those caps are reached, the patients are responsible for paying 100% of their 
medical expenses out of their own pockets.

The  indictment  alleges  that  Simple  Health  employed  a  deceptive  sales  script  to  trick  
people  into purchasing the limited indemnity plans.   Among other things, the script required the 
Simple Health salespersons to tell the customers that:   “The whole idea of this plan is to make 
your out of pocket expenses as low as possible . . . .” and “When all is said and done, you end up 
with pennies on the dollar!!”   Relying on these and other false and misleading representations, thousands of people across the country purchased limited indemnity plans from Simple Health.   According to the 
indictment, after customers purchased these policies, they frequently called Simple Health’s 
Customer Service Department and complained that (1) they had incurred significant medical expenses 
that they had been led to believe would be covered, but were not; (2) their doctors and hospitals 
did not accept the limited indemnity plans; and (3) their prescription drug costs were not covered, 
contrary to what they were told when the purchased the policies.

In October 2018, the Federal Trade Commission’s Midwest Regional Office in Chicago took action to 
prevent Simple Health from defrauding any additional consumers.   The complaint filed by the FTC 
requested that the federal court in south Florida enter an injunction prohibiting Simple Health 
from violating federal consumer protection laws.   In addition, at the request of the FTC, the 
court appointed a receiver take over operations of the business.   The litigation in that case is ongoing.

“We credit the Federal Trade Commission for their continued vigilance to protect the community from 
predatory  and  unscrupulous  businesses  operating  online,”  said  United  States  Attorney  
Steven  D. Weinhoeft. “Crimes like those alleged in the indictment rob people of their hard-earned 
money, but worse, they have catastrophic consequences when expected insurance benefits aren’t there 
in a time of need. These offenses ruin lives and must be dealt with harshly.”
The  indictment  charges  that  from  May  4,  2012,  through  November  1,  2018,  Simple  Health  
sold policies  to  over  400,000  people  nationwide,  generating  revenues  to  Simple  Health  of 
 more  than $190,000,000.    Simple  Health  sold  1,175  policies  to  individuals  residing  in  all  38  
counties  that comprise the Southern District of Illinois.

Dorfman, Girouard, and Sand are scheduled to appear in federal court in East St. Louis on Monday, 
March 7, 2022, for their arraignments.   Because the alleged scheme was conducted via telemarketing 
and victimized ten or more persons over the age of 55, the maximum penalty for the conspiracy count 
is 30 years, pursuant to the SCAMS Act.   Each of the mail and wire fraud counts carries a maximum 
sentence of up to 20 years in prison.   In addition, the defendants can be ordered to pay full 
restitution to the victims.

U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft of the Southern District of Illinois made the announcement. The 
St. Louis Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Verseman and Peter Reed are prosecuting the case.