Lab owner paid $14 million for fake COVID-19 test results

An Illinois lab owner pleaded guilty on Sept. 30 to wire fraud as part of a COVID-19 test fraud scheme, according to the Justice Department’s Office of Public Affairs press release.

Zishan Alvi, 45, was an owner and operator of a Chicago laboratory who was accused of submitting 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 were carried out from February 2021 to February 2022.

HRSA reportedly paid Alvi $14 million based on fraudulent claims. The press release states that the laboratory has released negative results for samples that were either not tested or did not produce conclusive results.

The FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) continue to investigate the case.

Newsweek contacted the law firm Lowther Walker, where Alvi’s attorney works, and attempted to reach his attorney for comment using a form on their website.

According to Alvi’s lawsuit, the lab would offer two forms of COVID-19 tests, PCR tests and antigen tests, which would provide results within 15 minutes. It is alleged that in December 2020, Alvi enrolled the lab in the HRSA Uninsured Program, a program created during the pandemic to cover the cost of COVID-19 testing for those who lacked health insurance coverage.

According to the indictment, the lab allegedly received more than $83 million from HRSA for COVID-19 tests allegedly conducted by the lab.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Alvi transferred the HRSA funds to a personal account to purchase luxury vehicles, make investments and purchase cryptocurrencies.

Alvi was charged in 2021 with ten counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government funds. 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 arraignment, acting Illinois U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual said: “The charge in this case is that the defendant disregarded public health concerns in favor of personal financial gain. “Coronavirus was particularly reprehensible,” according to USA Today.

The case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Investigation Division’s Fraud Unit, which runs the Health Care Fraud Strike Force program, an initiative launched in 2007 to combat health care fraud. It has sued more than 5,000 defendants, billing federal and private insurers more than $27 billion since its inception.

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