An Illinois laboratory owner pleaded guilty to wire fraud as part of a COVID-19 testing fraud scheme on September 30, according to the Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs press release.
Zishan Alvi, 45, was the owner and operator of a Chicago laboratory that was accused of making fraudulent claims to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to bill for COVID-19 tests that were not conducted as described from February 2021 to February 2022.
The HRSA reportedly paid Alvi $14 million as a result of fraudulent claims. The press release states that the laboratory released negative results for samples that were either not tested, or inconclusive.
The FBI and the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG) continue to investigate the case.
An individual conducting a COVID-19 rapid test in North Rhine-Westphalia, Duesseldorf at a testing center set up by a restaurant in December 2020. A former lab owner has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for his alleged part in a COVID-19 testing fraud scheme.
Federico Gambarini/Associated Press
Newsweek reached out to the law firm Alvi’s attorney works for, Lowther Walker, to attempt to reach his attorney for comment via a form on their website.
According to Alvi’s indictment, the laboratory purported to offer two forms of COVID-19 testing, PCR tests and antigen tests that would deliver results in 15 minutes. It alleges that Alvi enrolled the laboratory in the HRSA Uninsured Program in December 2020, a program created during the pandemic to cover the costs of COVID-19 testing for those who did not have health insurance coverage.
The laboratory allegedly received more than $83 million from the HRSA for COVID-19 tests purportedly conducted by the lab, according to the indictment.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Alvi transferred the HRSA funds to a personal account to purchase luxury vehicles and make investments, as well as purchase cryptocurrency.
Alvi was indicted of 10 counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government funds in 2021. He pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and his sentencing is scheduled for February 7, 2025. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
At the time of his indictment, Illinois Acting U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual said, “The charges in this case allege that the defendant disregarded public health concerns in favor of personal financial gain. Doing so by compromising taxpayer-funded programs intended to fight the spread of coronavirus was particularly reprehensible,” according to USA Today.
The case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section which runs the Health Care Fraud Strike Force program, an initiative created in 2007 to combat health care fraud. It has charged more than 5,000 defendants who billed more than $27 billion to federal and private insurers since its launch.
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