An Illinois man has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a fraudulent COVID-19 testing scheme, according to the Department of Justice.
Zishan Alvi, 45, of Inverness, Illinois, owned and operated a laboratory in Chicago that conducted tests for COVID-19.
From February 2021 to February 2022, Alvi orchestrated a scheme to submit fraudulent applications to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for possible false or inaccurate COVID-19 tests.
According to court documents, the laboratory falsely issued negative test results for COVID-19 to patients, even though the tests were not completed or the results were unclear. Despite knowing this, Alvi caused the lab to submit requests to HRSA for these tests, resulting in a fraudulent payment of $14 million.
Alvi pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 7, 2025. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The final sentence will be determined by the district court judge based on the US Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.
The announcement was made by Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Judicial Division; Acting US Attorney Morris Pasqual for the Northern District of Illinois; Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and Special Agent in Charge Mario Pinto of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
The FBI and HHS-OIG are investigating. The case is being prosecuted by Claire T. Sobczak of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant US Attorneys Jared Hasten and Misty Wright of the Northern District of Illinois.
