Florida insurance broker pleads guilty in $133 million 'Obamacare' enrollment scheme

Christopher O'Donnell, Tampa Bay Times on Apr 26, 2025

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TAMPA, Fla. — A vice president of an insurance brokerage firm and his accomplices targeted the homeless, the unemployed and those with mental health and substance abuse issues in a scheme to earn commission from fraudulent enrollments for the Affordable Care Act, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The scheme involved submitting false applications for individuals who were ineligible for subsidies offered for health insurance plans offered through the federal market place. The federal government paid at least $133 million in subsidies for fraudulently enrolled individuals, according to a media release.

Dafud Iza, 54, of Pembroke Pines, pleaded guilty to one count of major fraud against the United States and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He is yet to be sentenced.

The name of Iza’s brokerage firm is not included in court records. He was an executive at Fiorella Insurance Agency in Stuart up until 2024, according to his Linkedin profile.

Hundreds of homeless people in Florida may have been signed up for zero-premium health plans through the Affordable Care Act marketplace by commission-seeking agents and brokers, a KFF Health News investigation found.

The policies sold to them often came with copayments, deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses they could not afford.

“This type of fraud has plagued our community for years, preventing the most vulnerable from being able to access medical care by enrolling them into $0 month premiums with high deductible plans,” said Katie Roders Turner, executive director of the Family Healthcare Foundation, a Tampa nonprofit that helps low-income residents access free or low-cost care. “This frequently causes them to become ineligible for community safety-net programs.

The scheme also involved “street marketers” who offered bribes to individuals to enroll in subsidized health plans, according to the Department of Justice statement. Those enrollees were coached on how to fill out the application to maximize subsidies paid by the government and the marketers provided addresses and social security numbers that did not match the applicant.

Navigators with the Covering Florida Navigator program have helped people who were fraudulently enrolled, a process that included submitting appeals to the federal health insurance marketplace about fraudulent activity, said program director Xonjenese Jacobs.

Iza, who lives in Pembroke Pines, referred a call for comment to Fort Lauderdale federal criminal attorney David Joffe.

“We though this was in his long-term best interest to enter this plea,” Joffe said. “He’s accepted responsibility for his actions in the case.”