Federal prosecutors have charged an Illinois laboratory owner with running a large-scale scheme to submit claims for COVID-19 tests that were never performed.
Rajesh “Raj” Patel, 52, of Schaumburg, faces five counts of wire fraud after the laboratory allegedly billed the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Uninsured Program for at least 380,000 nonexistent tests between May 2021 and April 2022, says the U.S. Department of Justice.
HRSA is a federally funded program that covered the costs of COVID-19 tests for individuals without health insurance coverage.
The laboratory paid tens of millions to a staffing company for patient specimens and data that often did not exist, then generated false negative results to support the claims.
The laboratory submitted $66.2 million in fraudulent claims to HRSA, and the agency paid out about $44.1 million on the fraudulent submissions, with Patel personally receiving roughly $28 million.
Says Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald,
“This defendant allegedly exploited a global crisis for personal gain, fabricating hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 tests – then billing the taxpayer for it. Every dollar taken from a federal health care program is a dollar taken from the American people. The Fraud Division will find those who steal from taxpayers, and we will prosecute them.”
Each wire fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted.
The FBI Chicago Field Office and HHS-OIG conducted the investigation.
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