Zishan Alvi, COVID-19 Testing Fraud, Illinois 2024
A Chicago laboratory owner has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in a COVID-19 testing fraud scheme.
Zishan Alvi, 46, of Inverness, Ill., owned and operated a laboratory in Chicago that performed testing for COVID-19.
According to court documents, in 2021 and 2022, Alvi caused claims to be submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for COVID-19 tests that were either not performed at all or not performed correctly.
As part of the scheme, the laboratory released negative test results to patients, even though the laboratory either had not tested the specimens or the results were inconclusive because Alvi had diluted the tests to save on costs, rendering the tests unreliable.
Alvi pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on September 30, 2024.
At sentencing, he was also ordered to pay $14,199,217 in restitution, and forfeit approximately $6.8 million in cash, a 2021 Range Rover HSE, and over $630,000 from an E-Trade account.
The FBI and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Claire Sobczak Pacelli of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Hasten for the Northern District of Illinois prosecuted the case.
Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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