Two charged in $227 million medicare fraud scheme

  Ema Alice: Two men have found themselves in deep legal trouble as they face charges for their engagement in a Medicare fraud scheme amounting to over $227 million. Arrested yesterday, Syed Murtuza Kablazada, 34, of Arlington Heights, Illinois, and Syed Mehdi Hussain, 32, of Carol Stream, Illinois, are accused of exploiting Medicare through their purported medical laboratories, according to a Department of Justice announcement. The indictment alleges that Kablazada and Hussain intentionally plotted to utilize foreign nationals as straw owners for these laboratories to submit and subsequently collect on fraudulent Medicare claims for COVID-19 test kits. These individuals were reportedly positioned with the understanding that they would flee the country upon any investigation discovery. "As alleged, 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," Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said in a statement obtained by the DOJ. To add insult to injury, the defendants were brazen enough to rarely even deliver the COVID-19 test kits, instead submitting claims for individuals who never requested them, including some who were deceased. The scale of the fraud is striking, with the laboratories run by the accused allegedly billing Medicare for a staggering $227 million in claims between September 2022 and June 2023, of which approximately $136 million was reimbursed. Kablazada and Hussain now face four counts of health care fraud, and if convicted, could be finely punished with up to 10 years in prison for each count. Responding swiftly to this egregious abuse of the system, the FBI Chicago Field Office and the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) are thoroughly investigating the case, determined to bring to justice those individuals who sought to brazenly enrich themselves at the expense of the American taxpayers. Special Agent in Charge Douglas S. DePodesta of the FBI Chicago Field Office reiterated the gravity of such offenses, stating, "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." Furthermore, Medicare, along with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the HHS Office of the Inspector General, are working to ensure that providers involved in health care fraud schemes are held accountable for their actions. While the charges faced by Kablazada and Hussain are severe, it must be remembered that an indictment is simply an allegation and not proof of guilt. Both individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Prosecution of the case is underway by Trial Attorney Andres Q. Almendarez of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Jasmina Vajzovic for the Northern District of Illinois. The implications of this case are vast, as indicated by the Criminal Division’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, which since March 2007 has charged thousands of individuals in fraud cases totaling more than $30 billion in fraudulent billing. [Bangla Press is a global platform for free thought. It provides impartial news, analysis, and commentary for independent-minded individuals. Our goal is to bring about positive change, which is more important today than ever before.] BP/SM