Ex-Loretto Hospital Executive Charged With Stealing $300 Million Through COVID Testing Scams

The former Loretto Hospital executive charged with stealing millions from the safety-net hospital also used fake COVID-19 testing companies to steal about $300 million from the government, prosecutors alleged in a newly unsealed indictment.

Former Loretto COO and CFO Anosh Ahmed is among a group of four who now face charges related to the scheme, prosecutors said.

Block Club has reported extensively on Ahmed’s troubling conduct at Loretto Hospital, from letting well-connected people access COVID-19 vaccines early — and even bragging he vaccinated Eric Trump — to contracting with companies owned by his business partner, best friend and neighbor, Sameer Suhail.

Ahmed and Suhail were charged in July with wire fraud, embezzlement and money laundering, with prosecutors alleging they defrauded the hospital out of $15 million. They fled to Dubai.

Separately, Block Club also revealed in 2021 and 2022 that various COVID-19 testing companies were providing questionable and sometimes fake results while appearing to wrongfully seek federal reimbursements worth hundreds of millions of dollars. One of the labs highlighted by Block Club Chicago for problematic work was O’Hare Clinical Lab.

Now, those stories have converged, as prosecutors say Ahmed, Mohamed “Siraj” Sirajudeen and Mahmood Sami Khan used O’Hare Clinical Lab, among others, to submit false COVID-19 testing claims to the government. They sought about $900 million in reimbursements, of which they received about $300 million.

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Host - Jon Hansen

Reporter - Kelly Bauer

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