Indian man sentenced to 2 years over Medicare fraud in WA

A 35-year-old Indian national who helped run an Everett-area diagnostic laboratory that billed Medicare for tests that were never ordered or performed was sentenced Tuesday to two years in federal prison in Seattle.

According to the Justice Department, Mohammed Asif, listed with state and Medicare filings as the owner and director of American Labworks LLC, pleaded guilty on Sept. 4, 2025, to conspiracy to commit health care fraud tied to the lab’s billing practices, federal prosecutors said. U.S. District Judge James L. Robart imposed the 24-month sentence and ordered Asif to repay $1,174,813 in restitution.

At the sentencing hearing, Robart called the loss amount “a significant amount of money,” saying it was “siphoned out of the Medicare system” intended to serve elderly and low-income patients. The judge also described Asif as a knowing participant in the scheme who “lacks moral character,” adding that the public needed protection from similar conduct.

According to court records, American Labworks billed Medicare more than $8.7 million for laboratory testing services from April 2024 through December 2024, including claims for COVID-19 and other respiratory illness testing. Medicare ultimately paid the lab more than $1.1 million.

The lab’s corporate timeline and licensing status raised additional questions for investigators. Washington’s business records show American Labworks was formed in October 2021 and dissolved in March 2025. State health records indicated its license as a medical test site expired in December 2023.

Between June 2024 and March 2025, Medicare received more than 200 complaints connected to American Labworks, prosecutors said. Many people reported seeing Medicare billed for tests they never received. In one example cited by investigators, a Medicare enrollee said Medicare paid American Labworks $545 for COVID-19 tests on dates when the beneficiary said no tests were taken.

Investigators also found red flags in the underlying billing data. In some cases, the “date of service” for testing appeared after a beneficiary had already died. In other instances, the physician who supposedly referred the patient was deceased at the time of the claimed service date. Doctors named as ordering providers told investigators they had not sent patients to the lab, and some beneficiaries said they had never heard of the listed referring physicians.

Asif was arrested on April 10, 2025, at Chicago O’Hare International Airport while attempting to board an international flight, authorities said. Financial records showed Asif controlled the lab’s bank account, receiving checks and making withdrawals, including a $260,000 withdrawal in May 2024, prosecutors said. After that withdrawal, Asif, who had been in the US on a student visa, returned to India, according to the case record. He later returned to the United States in March 2025 as investigators were “unraveling the fraud.”

A grand jury indicted Asif on April 23, 2025, following a criminal complaint drafted by prosecutors and agents from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the FBI. US Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said the case reflects the ongoing vulnerability of federal health programs to fraud. “Mr. Asif participated in a scheme to steal more than a million dollars from Medicare, funds that are meant to be used for important medical care,” Floyd said, adding that Medicare “is a constant target of fraud” and that investigators will continue to pursue similar schemes.

HHS-OIG Acting Special Agent in Charge Robb R. Breeden said billing for testing “that was never furnished” undermines the health care system and diverts critical resources from people who need them. FBI Seattle Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington said Asif exploited the COVID-19 pandemic and that investigators “carefully follow the money and financial records to ensure justice is served.”

Asif is expected to be deported after completing his prison sentence, prosecutors said. Officials also said Asif conspired with other people and that the government’s investigation remains ongoing.