A man from Glendale, Calif., was sentenced Jan. 31 to 10 years in prison for a Medicare fraud scheme.
Imran Shams was convicted of Medicare and Medicaid fraud in separate 1990 and 2001 cases in New York and California, respectively, according to a Jan. 30 news release from the Justice Department. After these convictions, he was excluded from participation in Medicare and all federal healthcare programs.
Mr. Shams concealed his involvement in operating a laboratory and billing Medicare about $234 million for lab tests, including COVID-19 and respiratory pathogen panel tests, despite his exclusion from participating in federal healthcare programs.
In addition to his imprisonment, Mr. Shams was ordered to forfeit $31,761,286, including $4,513,106 in funds that the government seized beforehand from two bank accounts. He also had to forfeit his interest in two residential properties and one business property in the Los Angeles area. Mr. Shams was ordered to pay $31,761,286 in restitution.