CHICAGO — An Indian national living in Illinois has pleaded guilty to participating in a $227 million Medicare fraud scheme that used personal information purchased from a Pakistani company to bill the federal government for COVID-19 test kits that were never requested or delivered.
Syed Murtuza Kablazada, 36, of Des Plaines, Illinois, pleaded guilty to two counts of health care fraud after admitting his role in a scheme that generated approximately $136 million in improper Medicare payments.
According to the Justice Department, Kablazada and his co-conspirators acquired three Chicago-area laboratories—Chicago Care, V Care and Al-Ameer—and used them to submit fraudulent claims involving hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries.
The operation began in January 2023 and continued for approximately six months. Prosecutors said Kablazada paid approximately $11 million to a purported telemarketing company in Pakistan to obtain identifying information belonging to Medicare beneficiaries.
The information was used to submit claims for over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits that beneficiaries had neither requested nor received. The laboratories billed Medicare about $227 million, of which Medicare paid approximately $136 million.
Prosecutors said Kablazada knew the tests were not being shipped. According to court documents, he and associates concealed their involvement through overseas money transfers and unlicensed money transmitters, using some proceeds to purchase luxury vehicles.
As part of his plea agreement, Kablazada agreed to forfeit more than $46 million in fraud proceeds seized by law enforcement from 10 bank accounts.
Kablazada faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been announced; the judge will consider federal sentencing guidelines and statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Chicago Field Office and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. Deputy Chief Patrick Mott and Trial Attorney Claire Sobczak Pacelli of the Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud Section are prosecuting with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Andres Almendarez.
The Justice Department said its Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program has charged more than 6,200 defendants since 2007 in cases involving more than $45 billion in claims to federal health programs and private insurers.