In a major crackdown on health care fraud in the United States, federal prosecutors in California have charged a foreign national with orchestrating a massive scheme that allegedly sought over $90 million through fraudulent Medicare claims.
The accused, Anar Rustamov, a 38-year-old Azerbaijani national formerly residing in Sunnyvale, California, now faces charges of health care fraud following a federal grand jury indictment announced on March 20, 2026.
Authorities identified Anar Rustamov as a foreign national from Azerbaijan who allegedly entered the United States illegally and later built a fraudulent billing operation targeting federal health care funds.
Prosecutors say Rustamov created and operated a company named Dublin Helping Hand, which served as the central vehicle for executing the scheme.
He is currently at large, according to officials.
According to the indictment, Rustamov ran a highly structured operation between October 2024 and June 2025, submitting thousands of fraudulent claims to Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs).
The scheme targeted Medicare Advantage (Part C) programs
Claims were filed for medical equipment, including:
Blood glucose monitors
Orthotic braces
The total value of claims exceeded $90 million
Equipment was never provided to patients
Items were not medically necessary
Claims were not authorized by legitimate medical providers
Patient identities were used without their knowledge
Investigators also revealed that even the referring medical providers listed on claims had not approved them, further exposing the scale of falsification.
A striking aspect of the case is the alleged misuse of patient information. Prosecutors say beneficiaries listed in the claims were completely unaware that their details were being used to bill Medicare.
This highlights a growing pattern in health care fraud where identity misuse plays a central role in large-scale billing scams.
U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian emphasized that the case reflects the government’s intensified efforts against health care fraud.
He stated that schemes like this attempt to “steal nearly $100 million in taxpayer funds” meant for genuine medical care.
Federal agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), are actively involved in the investigation.
Officials underscored that Medicare Advantage programs are funded by taxpayers and are designed to provide essential care not to be exploited for profit.
This case fits into a broader national trend of aggressively targeting fraud in federal health programs.
Large-scale operations increasingly involve:
Durable medical equipment scams
Identity-based billing fraud
Transnational actors exploiting U.S. systems
Authorities have warned that such schemes not only drain taxpayer money but also undermine access to legitimate care.
Rustamov remains wanted, and law enforcement agencies continue efforts to locate and arrest him.
If convicted, he could face severe federal penalties under U.S. health care fraud laws.
Reference:
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California. “Foreign National Charged with Orchestrating Health Care Fraud Scheme Targeting Medicare Advantage Programs.” Press release, March 20, 2026.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/foreign-national-charged-orchestrating-health-care-fraud-scheme-targeting-medicare
