$1.2B Medicare Fraud Targeted Hospice Patients As Couple Was Arrested Boarding A Flight To London

Alexandra Gehrke, 39, and her husband Jeffrey King, 46, pleaded guilty in a wound graft scheme that the Justice Department says caused more than $1.2 billion in false claims to Medicare and other insurers. U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver sentenced Gehrke to 15.5 years in prison on Oct. 7, 2025, and King to 14 years on Oct. 10, 2025. The Justice Department says neither had medical training. Its releases describe medically untrained sales representatives finding elderly patients, many in hospice care, and nurse practitioners directed to apply grafts regardless of their own judgment. The indictment quotes Gehrke calling hospice facilities "where the most money [was] at." The couple was arrested on June 17, 2024 at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport as they boarded a flight to London. In this video: 0:00 Arrested at the gate 0:38 The couple and the case 1:31 "The figure would grow" 1:55 Who they were 2:38 What the indictment says about hospice patients 3:34 "What followed" 4:15 $1.2 billion in claims 4:39 The home and the cars 5:19 The money moves 6:06 The note, the phones and the handbook 6:37 Crypto, recovery words and cash 7:08 Detention hearings 7:22 Guilty pleas 7:38 Gehrke's sentence 8:03 King's sentence 9:01 Restitution and forfeiture 9:31 The civil resolution Alexandra Gehrke and Jeffrey King pleaded guilty and were sentenced. Some details in this video come from the indictment and from the government's detention motion, as shown by FOX 10 Phoenix, and from statements made in court. The first indictment cited more than $900 million in claims; later Justice Department releases cite $1,212,005,778. The 2024 news clips cite about $330 million in kickbacks; later releases cite over $279 million to Gehrke's companies and $130 million to King's company. Justice Department releases list the amount insurers paid as $614,990,420 and $614,945,420. At Gehrke's July 2024 detention hearing, her lawyer said the books agents found were irrelevant. Reports put the home's value between $5.7 million and $6.2 million. The Justice Department lists the couple as being of Phoenix; news reports describe them as a Scottsdale couple. Two nurse practitioners were also charged. Federal Desk found one report that both pleaded guilty and found no public report of their sentences. The Justice Department's releases do not name the graft distributor. Some images are illustrative stock footage and do not show the people, patients or property in this case. Thumbnail photo: as shown by 12 News. Thumbnail scene images: FOX 10 Phoenix and 12 News. Sources: U.S. Justice Department (Dec. 12, 2025): https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wound-... U.S. Justice Department (Jan. 31, 2025): https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/arizon... U.S. Justice Department news conference (June 27, 2024):    • Justice Department Announces Nationwide He...   FOX 10 Phoenix (June 2024):    • Medicare paid Arizona couple for 'medicall...   FOX 10 Phoenix (Oct. 2025):    • Scottsdale couple sentenced for $1.2B Medi...   12 News (June 2024):    • Valley couple charged in health care fraud...   ABC15 Arizona (June 2024):    • Justice Department charges Arizona couple,...   ABC15 Arizona, AP report: https://www.abc15.com/news/national/j... Courthouse News, Gehrke sentencing: https://www.courthousenews.com/crimin... Courthouse News, King sentencing: https://www.courthousenews.com/arizon... East Valley Tribune via Yahoo News (July 2024): https://www.yahoo.com/news/glitzy-sco... This video reports court information, official releases and published news reports. News footage is used for news reporting and commentary under fair use; all rights belong to their owners. 👉 Subscribe to Federal Desk for U.S. news from the official record. #Medicare #HospiceFraud #Arizona #Fraud #FederalDesk