Fast Lab allegedly used customers’ insurance details to bill for COVID-19 tests that were never provided. (AI image)
The FBI also said the scale of the alleged scheme affected healthcare funding and public trust. Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said, “A scheme of this magnitude undermines public trust and diverts critical healthcare dollars away from the people and programs who need it most. Today’s guilty plea is an important step toward accountability for conduct that resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent billings,” Runyan said.
Americans who ordered Covid-19 tests advertised as ‘no cost’ online during the pandemic were allegedly at the centre of a healthcare fraud scheme that generated more than $500 million in false claims, according to the US Department of Justice. Fast Lab allegedly used the insurance details provided by customers to submit claims for Covid-19 testing services that had not actually taken place, according to court documents. The case centres on how the insurance information of people seeking Covid-19 tests was allegedly used after they placed their orders. The alleged fraud involved several types of Covid-19 testing services. PCR tests detect genetic material from the virus and were widely used for Covid-19 diagnosis during the pandemic.
Prosecutors said the company behind the tests used customers’ insurance information to bill government-backed healthcare programmes for medical services that were never provided. Prosecutors said the company claimed that medical professionals had observed antigen tests, collected saliva samples and conducted PCR testing, even when those services had not been provided. Prosecutors said Seyhun worked with previously charged defendants Cemhan “Jimmy” Biricik, Fast Lab’s CEO, and Dr Martin Perlin, the company’s Medical Director, to carry out the scheme. Seyhun’s guilty plea was part of a wider investigation into pandemic-related healthcare fraud, according to The Justice Department. Prosecutors said Fast Lab submitted claims stating that antigen tests had been observed by medical professionals.
The claims included services linked to antigen tests, saliva samples and PCR testing. Seyhun also admitted that, as COO, he helped orchestrate the submission of millions of dollars in fraudulent healthcare claims. The investigation involved several federal and state agencies, including the FBI Detroit Field Office, the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General and the Michigan Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Antigen tests are used to detect proteins from the virus. The company also allegedly claimed that saliva samples had been collected by medical personnel. Those samples were then allegedly billed as having undergone PCR testing.