Imadeldin Awad Khair, Healthcare Fraud, New Jersey 2023
Passaic County Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Healthcare Fraud
A Clifton, New Jersey, man, Imadeldin Awad Khair, 57, also known as 'Nadr Awad,' was sentenced to 216 months in prison for healthcare fraud, obstructing a federal audit, and other charges associated with his illegal operation of an ambulance company despite having been banned from participating in federal healthcare programs.
Khair was convicted of all 17 counts of an indictment charging him with healthcare fraud, obstructing a federal audit, tax evasion, and money laundering. He was convicted following a nine-day bench trial before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton, who imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence presented at trial, Khair was excluded from participating in any capacity in Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal healthcare programs for a minimum of 11 years after being convicted on a New Jersey state healthcare fraud charge in 2004. Despite this exclusion, Medicare and Medicaid paid over $9 million in claims submitted by Khair's ambulance company, K&S Invalid Coach, which was operated in his brother's name.
In an attempt to deceive authorities, Khair recruited a business associate to tell authorities that Khair was his full-time employee, and he used fraudulent paystubs to convince authorities that he was not violating the terms of his exclusion. When special agents with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, executed a search warrant at K&S's offices in 2014, Khair's top managers directed employees via group text message to tell the agents that Khair's brother was really in charge at K&S.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton ordered Khair to serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution of $8.8 million. U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark; special agents of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert; and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge, for their work in this case.
The charges against Khair included healthcare fraud, obstructing a federal audit, tax evasion, and money laundering. The case was investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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