Co-owner of LabElite COVID testing company indicted on fraud charges

The indictment said Alvi and LabElite submitted reimbursement claims to the program for purported COVID-19 tests that were not really performed at all, had been modified such that they were unreliable, or for which the company had already been paid directly by consumers.

In some instances, LabElite employees altered the testing method in a corner-cutting effort intended to cut costs and increase profits, prosecutors said. They used less of the materials need for PCR tests – including reagents – knowing full well that this would make the tests unreliable, prosecutors said. These tests were also submitted to the federal program for reimbursement, prosecutors said.

"The charges in this case allege that the defendant disregarded public health concerns in favor of personal financial gain. Doing so by compromising taxpayer-funded programs intended to fight the spread of coronavirus was particularly reprehensible" Acting U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual said in a news release. "I commend the work of our law enforcement partners who investigated this complex fraud scheme.

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Co-Owner of Chicago COVID Testing Company Defrauded Government of $83M, Used Funds to Buy VehiclesZishan Alvi, the co-owner of a Chicago laboratory company that operated COVID-19 testing sites during the pandemic, is facing federal charges for a scheme in which he took $83 million in government subsidies, directed employees to give patients false test results, submitted claims for tests that hadn't been performed and used the proceeds to buy personal vehicles and make investments.
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