Two men in Illinois conned Medicare out of almost $230 million by filing fraudulent claims related to COVID-19 test kits.
Federal prosecutors allege that Syed Murtuza Kablazada, 34, of Arlington Heights, and Syed Mehdi Hussain, 32, of Carol Stream, owned and operated purported medical laboratories that submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare for the reimbursement of over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits allegedly provided to Medicare beneficiaries.
"The defendants used straw owners at multiple laboratories to cause the submission of more than $200 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for COVID-19 test kits," said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "Health care fraud harms Americans by squandering taxpayer money and diverting limited resources from those who need them most. The Criminal Division will continue to aggressively prosecute these crimes to hold fraudsters accountable, protect victims, and recover financial losses."
Authorities allege that the pair rarely actually delivered COVID-19 test kits to Medicare recipients. Rather, they submitted reimbursement claims on behalf of beneficiaries who had not requested COVID-19 test kits. In some instances, the scheme involved claims for people who had died.
According to prosecutors, Kablazada and Hussain even hired a marketing firm to find the names of hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries so that they could then use their identities in the fraud. In total, between September 2022 and June 2023, the fake labs billed Medicare approximately $227 million in fraudulent claims, of which Medicare paid approximately $136 million in reimbursements.
"The overwhelming fraud uncovered in this investigation details a blatant disregard for America's critical health care program, Medicare, and puts all patients at risk," said Special Agent in Charge Douglas S. DePodesta of the FBI Chicago Field Office. "The FBI and our partners will not tolerate anyone who abuses the health care system for personal gain and will aggressively pursue justice on behalf of both patients and taxpayers."
Kablazada and Hussain are both charged by indictment with four counts of health care fraud. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each of the four counts.
