Inverness man admits to role in $14 million COVID testing scam

An Inverness man faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday for his role in a $14 million COVID-19 testing scam, federal prosecutors said.

Zishan Alvi, 45, admitted to one count of wire fraud and will be sentenced Feb. 7, 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Alvi owned and operated a laboratory in Chicago that performed COVID-19 testing, court documents state. Prosecutors alleged that from February 2021 through February 2022, he caused claims to be submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration for tests that were not performed as billed.

As part of the scheme, the laboratory released negative COVID-19 test results to patients, even though the lab either had not actually tested the specimens or the results were inconclusive, authorities said.

Alvi knew his lab was releasing negative results for tests that were not performed or were inconclusive, but still caused claims to be submitted for those tests, the charges alleged.

The federal government paid the lab more than $14 million as a result, prosecutors say.

The case was prosecuted through the DOJ’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, the program has charged more than 5,400 defendants since 2007 who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion, officials said. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.