Federal prosecutors received the green light to retry Philip Esformes on pending healthcare fraud charges after US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas rejected an emergency appeal from the assisted living community and nursing home owner on Tuesday.
Esformes had sought to stay a decision from the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals affirming his 2019 conviction. In the filing, attorneys argued that the Supreme Court should intervene to stay the appellate court’s ruling to prevent the government “rush to retry Mr Esformes on the hung counts — notwithstanding its acknowledged misconduct and the president’s grant of clemency.”
Thomas denied emergency relief without comment, opting not to refer the case to the full court for consideration, according to Courthouse News Service.
Esformes was found guilty on 20 fraud charges in 2019, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, money laundering, paying and receiving kickbacks, bribery, wire fraud and obstruction of justice. The federal government had called the $1.3 billion healthcare fraud case “the largest healthcare fraud scheme charged by the US Justice Department.”