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A sprawling federal investigation into pandemic-related fraud has ensnared a former high-ranking executive of a Chicago safety-net hospital, who now stands accused of masterminding one of the most audacious COVID-19 testing scams in the nation. Anosh Ahmed, the former Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of The Loretto Hospital, has been identified by federal prosecutors as a key figure in a scheme that allegedly defrauded the U.S. government of approximately $293 million.
According to a recently unsealed federal indictment, Ahmed and his co-conspirators orchestrated a massive operation to exploit the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) COVID-19 Uninsured Program, which was designed to cover testing and treatment costs for uninsured Americans during the pandemic. The defendants are accused of submitting an astonishing volume of fraudulent claims for COVID-19 tests through labs they controlled, most notably O'Hare Clinical Lab.
The scale of the alleged fraud is staggering. Prosecutors claim the conspirators sought nearly $900 million in reimbursements and were ultimately paid around $293 million between November 2021 and July 2022. The indictment alleges that the labs submitted claims for over one million fictitious patients in that timeframe. A significant portion of the patient data used to generate these false claims was allegedly sourced from The Loretto Hospital, a critical healthcare provider for Chicago's West Side community.
Ahmed's tenure at Loretto was already mired in controversy before these latest charges came to light. He resigned from his dual roles as COO and CFO in March 2021 following public outrage over reports that the hospital had provided preferential access to COVID-19 vaccines to well-connected individuals, including at Trump Tower and a suburban church where Ahmed was a member. This latest indictment paints a far more damaging picture of his activities during his time with the hospital.
Even before the COVID testing fraud allegations surfaced, Ahmed was facing separate federal charges for his alleged involvement in a scheme to embezzle $15 million from Loretto Hospital itself. Authorities reported that after being charged in that initial case, Ahmed fled the United States to Pakistan to avoid prosecution. His current whereabouts remain a key point of interest for law enforcement.
The case against Ahmed is part of a sweeping, nationwide crackdown by the Department of Justice on individuals and organizations that exploited federal pandemic relief funds. The indictment details a life of luxury allegedly funded by the illicit proceeds, with prosecutors seeking the forfeiture of tens of millions of dollars. Assets subject to seizure include numerous high-end vehicles such as a Lamborghini, a Bentley, and a Porsche, alongside millions in cash and securities held in various bank and brokerage accounts.
The fallout from the scandal has cast a long shadow over The Loretto Hospital, which has struggled to restore public trust while continuing its mission to serve a vulnerable patient population. The case underscores the immense challenges federal agencies faced in disbursing emergency funds quickly while trying to prevent rampant fraud, and it serves as a stark example of how some individuals allegedly exploited a global health crisis for personal enrichment. As the legal proceedings unfold, the case against Anosh Ahmed is set to be one of the most significant prosecutions of pandemic-related fraud in the country. One can only hope everyone who abused COVID related money, including PPP loans, is caught and convicted as an abject lesson on not taking advantage of America in the future.
