SERBIA, February 5, 2026: Anosh Ahmed, former chief financial officer of Chicago’s Loretto Hospital, has been arrested in Serbia on charges of defrauding the federal government of $290 million, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on January 28, 2026.
Ahmed, who was born in Pakistan and came to the U.S. as a child. After leaving the United States, Ahmed is believed to have traveled to Dubai and later Serbia, where he has been in Serbian custody since November 2025.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sheri Mecklenburg and Kelly Guzman confirmed his detention, stating, “As of now, the United States understands that Ahmed remains in custody in Serbia, pending extradition.” Prosecutors are seeking his extradition to face charges in the United States. A Serbian court denied Ahmed’s request to be released to a hotel in Belgrade on December 30, 2025, ordering him to remain in custody.
Ahmed was first charged in 2024 in connection with fraudulent practices at the hospital involving COVID-19 vaccination jabs and is now accused of orchestrating a wider scheme to defraud the federal government of $290 million. He is also accused of being part of a group linked to a West Chicago hospital that allegedly used stolen patient data to bill $900 million for COVID-19 tests that were never conducted. According to the court filings he accessed the personal information of more than 150,000 patients to obtain fraudulent reimbursements.
Ahmed was first charged with wire fraud in July 2024. In the same year, he and two others, identified as Heather Bergdahl and Sameer Suhail, were also charged with stealing more than $15 million from Loretto Hospital by submitting fake invoices and false payment requests.
Ahmed resigned from Loretto Hospital in March 2021 following a scandal over improper COVID-19 vaccine distribution, first reported by Block Club Chicago. Hospital executives arranged vaccinations for ineligible individuals at luxury locations, including Trump Tower in Chicago, contradicting the hospital’s safety-net mission.
Charges against Ahmed include 14 counts of fraud, conspiracy to defraud the government, 2 count of wrongful remuneration involving federal health care programs, wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information and 5 counts of money laundering, as per the COVID-19 scheme-related indictment shared online by the Department of Justice.
A hearing in the case is scheduled for February 13, 2026, and U.S. prosecutors said that if Ahmed is not extradited, they will adjust the evidence for defendants currently on trial.
(Rh/VK)