Leigh Tesar and two nurses charged in $118 million Medicare fraud scheme

Federal prosecutors have charged Florida nurse practitioner Leigh Tesar and two registered nurses, Walter Presha Jr. and Koby Evans, in connection with a massive Medicare fraud scheme involving wound-care procedures.

The indictment alleges that between May 2024 and November 2025, the group participated in an eighteen-month arrangement that resulted in over $118 million in Medicare billings and approximately $61 million in actual payments. Prosecutors claim Tesar operated Tesar Primecare in Sarasota, using illegal kickbacks to pay Presha and Evans for directing Medicare beneficiaries toward expensive skin-substitute treatments.

In addition to the kickback allegations, the government contends that some claims were for “phantom procedures,” where costly wound allograft applications were billed to Medicare but never actually performed on patients. The indictment also notes that some patients receiving these disputed treatments were terminally ill, and their wounds may not have healed due to the nature of the allografts used. Tesar faces multiple counts of healthcare fraud, conspiracy, and kickbacks, while Presha and Evans face conspiracy and prohibited referral payment charges.