Chandigarh: An Indian-origin man has been declared a fugitive in the United States for allegedly cheating the Medicare health scheme of USD 93 million by filing fake claims for genetic tests. The accused, Khadeer Khan Mohammed, is believed to be in Hyderabad, India.
The Department of Health and Human Services said Mohammed either filed himself or told others to file claims for lab genetic tests that were not eligible for payment.
During the scheme, Mohammed reportedly used American Premier to submit about USD 93 million in false Medicare claims, leading to payments of at least USD 65 million.
The Office of the Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services, said that in just 10 days in 2023, Medicare paid around USD 13 million against suspected fraudulent claims, as reported by The New Indian Express.
According to the Department of Health, Mohammed owned American Premier Labs LLC in Richardson, Texas, from about August 2023 to October 2024, in the Northern District of Texas and other places.
He allegedly told others to submit claims that were not eligible for payment, were not requested by authorised doctors, and were not provided as described by the lab. He is also accused of using doctors’ personal details without their knowledge or consent to file claims for genetic tests for patients with whom those doctors had no treatment relationship.
“These tests were not ordered by the physicians and were not used in the care of the beneficiaries,” the Department stated.
According to the Department of Health, the claims were filed for Medicare beneficiaries whose doctors had no treatment ties with them. The Department alleged that the identities of several doctors were used to make the lab claims look genuine.
US authorities have now declared Mohammed a fugitive and say he may be in Hyderabad, India. The Department of Health and the FBI are investigating the case, and have reportedly seized nearly USD 6 million from bank accounts allegedly run by Mohammed.