GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — A man has pleaded guilty to a multi-million dollar fraud scheme, according to a North Carolina federal court.
On Monday, Chaudhry Shabbir Ahmed pleaded to conspiring to launder over $3 million in connection with a $100 million dollar health care fraud scheme, according to Acting United States Attorney Randall S. Galyon.
Court documents show that Ahmed conspired with another person to “represent himself at the owner of two durable medical equipment businesses,” one in High Point, Dune Medical Supply LLC, and another in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Prospect Health Solutions, Inc., using a falsified purchase agreement to make it seem as though Ahmed owned the businesses, when in reality to co-conspirator was the one operating them.
Once Ahmed was on relevant ownership documents, the court says, the companies submitted over $100 million in fraudulent Medicare claims between April and August 2024. These false claims were for medical assistance than Medicare beneficiaries never received, request or needed and that their healthcare providers never ordered.
“Before the scheme was discovered, Medicare electronically deposited more than $33 million in claim reimbursements into bank accounts held in the name of Dune and Prospect at various financial institutions. Ahmed had access to these accounts and would withdraw fraud proceeds in cash at bank branches. For example, on June 30, 2024, Ahmed withdrew $400,000 in cash from Prospect’s bank account and on August 9, 2024, Ahmed withdrew $500,000 in cash from Prospect’s bank account,” the court states.
Ahmed entered into a plea deal wherein he will forfeit over $17.6 million that was seized over the course of the investigation, along with a Rolex and an undisclosed amount of cryptocurrency.
Ahmed will have a sentencing hearing in June in Greensboro. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case.
