United States Attorney James L. Santelle for the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced today that Rickey Kanter, the former majority owner and Chief Executive Officer of Rikco International (doing business as Dr. Comfort), of Mequon, Wisconsin has been sentenced in federal court to prison for one year and one day, and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine based on his conviction of mail fraud.

This prosecution arose out of an investigation into the selling of shoe inserts for diabetic patients by Dr. Comfort that were falsely represented and marketed by Kanter as conforming to Medicare’s requirement for those products. Dr. Comfort manufactures, markets, and sells therapeutic shoes and inserts for use primarily by individuals with diabetes and severe foot diseases. In 2004, Dr. Comfort began selling diabetic shoe inserts that failed to conform with Medicare’s requirements for those products. Many of those products were provided to beneficiaries of the Medicare program and, therefore, the inserts were reimbursed by Medicare. Despite being advised that the inserts did not conform to Medicare’s requirements, Kanter continued to sell the non-compliant inserts in 2006.

Pursuant to separate agreements, Kanter sold his interest in Dr. Comfort and paid $27 million to the federal government to resolve civil claims against Dr. Comfort. Kanter also agreed to be excluded from participation in all federal health care programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, for a period of fifteen years. Dr. Comfort, which is now owned and operated by a separate, unrelated entity, entered into a five year corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General.

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