Dr. Faiz Ahmed Convicted in $13M Medicare Fraud Scheme

Houston doctor Faiz Ahmed, 64, was convicted on all eight counts in a $13 million Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme, capping a years-long conspiracy that exploited vulnerable patients and bilked federal programs. A federal jury found Ahmed guilty after just five hours of deliberation following a six-day trial, marking the final conviction in one of Texas’ most brazen health care fraud cases.

Ahmed allowed his physician number to be used to approve medically unnecessary diagnostic tests for approximately 400 patients—80% of whom received EKGs and PFTs—despite never being their treating physician. Prosecutors proved he knowingly participated in the scheme, with jurors hearing recorded phone calls and video evidence showing Ahmed agreeing to sign off on tests he never reviewed. Patients arrived in groups, often with marketers, with no appointments, no copays collected, and no medical referrals.

The mastermind behind the operation, Mkrtich “Mike” Yepremian, 59, ran fake clinics in Houston and Conroe, paying marketers like Michael Wayne Wilson, 47, Jermaine Doleman, 39, Eric Johnson, 62, and Eddie Wayne Taylor, 57, $100 per patient brought in. Those marketers, in turn, paid patients $50 each to undergo battery of tests. Yepremian pleaded guilty March 4, 2016, to conspiracy and paying kickbacks. Seven co-defendants, including office manager Ann Marie Rocha, 49, also pleaded guilty.

Patients testified they knew the scheme was illegal but participated for cash. Rocha and cooperating co-conspirators detailed how Ahmed signed off on claims, enabling Medicare and Medicaid to be billed $13 million—nearly $9 million of which was paid out. The defense claimed Ahmed had no knowledge of the kickbacks and that others added the tests without his consent. The jury rejected that argument outright.

U.S. District Judge Gray Miller presided over the trial and set sentencing for April 6, 2017. Ahmed, previously released on bond, will remain free until sentencing, where he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count. His conviction underscores the federal crackdown on fraudulent billing schemes hiding behind medical legitimacy.

The investigation was led by the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Bradley and Trial Attorney Jason Knutson, sending a clear message: doctors who traffic in fake medicine for real profit will face hard time.