Federal prosecutors in Chicago, Illinois have charged multiple foreign nationals in connection with sprawling Medicare fraud schemes that allegedly generated over $1 billion in fraudulent medical claims for equipment and diagnostic tests that were never provided, authorized, or medically necessary.
Official filings describe networks of shell companies, empty office locations and fabricated billing records submitted to both Medicare, the U.S. federal health insurance program primarily for adults aged 65 + and certain younger people with disabilities and private supplemental insurers.
The indictments allege that defendants used stolen Medicare beneficiary data (including names and identifier numbers), fake prescriptions, and shell medical supply businesses to generate reimbursement claims for items not supplied or not clinically necessary.
Key features of the alleged schemes:
Phantom supplies: Claims for continuous glucose monitors, catheters, and other durable medical equipment were submitted even though patients neither requested nor received the items and, in some cases, did not have the related conditions.
Empty offices: Investigators visiting listed business addresses found facilities that were largely inactive or unoccupied.
Mail forwarding and remote control: Workers were reportedly instructed only to collect mail and send photos via encrypted messaging apps to supervisors they had never met.
Use of shell corporations: Multiple companies participated, including Priority One Medical Equipment and Medical Home Care Inc., with operations spanning several states.
A citizen of Kazakhstan, Abdrakhmanov is charged with conspiracy and money laundering.
Prosecutors allege he took control of Priority One Medical Equipment, a Kentucky-registered supplier, and submitted approximately $666 million in fraudulent Medicare claims from March to August 2024.
During this period, Medicare received roughly 250 complaints from beneficiaries who reported they never received the billing items.
Another Kazakh national, Smagul allegedly orchestrated a separate fraud through Medical Home Care Inc., a Connecticut-registered company.
That operation is accused of submitting nearly $953 million in false claims for catheters, generating over 27,000 complaints.
Many patients and listed prescribers later stated they neither ordered nor approved the claimed supplies.
In a third related case:
Burhan Mirza (Pakistan) and Kashif Iqbal (Texas resident) are charged with a $10 million fraud involving diagnostic tests and equipment, allegedly using stolen patient information for claims.
Medicare and supplemental (Medigap) insurers reported receiving tens of thousands of beneficiary complaints about unsolicited billings and unreceived supplies.
Medicare fraud diverts funds from evidence-based medical care, such as clinically indicated durable medical equipment or needed laboratory tests and undermines trust in health systems designed to provide care to older adults and those with disabilities. The misuse of billing codes for non-supplied items can also trigger inappropriate policy responses or skew health service utilization data.
The U.S. Department of Justice and federal prosecutors are pursuing criminal charges, which may include money laundering, conspiracy, identity theft, and healthcare fraud.
This case highlights ongoing vulnerabilities in medical billing systems, especially for high-volume durable equipment reimbursement. Efforts to improve data security, provider verification, and claims auditing remain central to Medicare’s fraud prevention strategy.
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