A former top executive of a New York company that claimed to be offering "no cost" COVID tests online to consumers now finds himself and his co-conspirators in some costly federal trouble because of a criminal plot that garnered him over $4 million.

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Monday that the 45-year-old Miami, Florida, man, Hasan “Lucas” Seyhun, has pleaded guilty to masterminding the healthcare fraud scheme.

From the OIG report:

According to court documents, Seyhun served as the Chief Operating Officer of New York-based Fast Lab Technologies, LLC (Fast Lab), which offered to individuals “no cost” Covid‑19 tests during the pandemic that could be ordered online through the company’s website. 

Fast Lab then used customers’ insurance information to falsely bill for services that were never provided, including: 

  • False claims that antigen tests had been observed by medical professionals;
  • That saliva samples had been collected by medical personnel; 
  • And that PCR testing had been conducted on those samples. 

In his plea agreement, Seyhun also admitted that he conspired with previously charged defendants Cemhan “Jimmy” Biricik, Fast Lab’s CEO, and Dr. Martin Perlin, Fast Lab’s Medical Director, to carry out the scheme.

Seyhun also acknowledged that in his role as COO he orchestrated the submission of millions of dollars in fraudulent healthcare claims, resulting in at least $35M in illicit payments. Seyhun has agreed to a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $4,313,153, representing the amount of money he personally received from the scheme. 

Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said in a statement that "a scheme of this magnitude undermines public trust and diverts critical healthcare dollars away from the people and programs who need it most."

She characterized Monday's guilty plea by Seyhun as "an important step toward accountability for conduct that resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent billings."

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“The FBI will continue working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to track down complex healthcare fraud schemes and hold those who conduct them fully accountable," she said.

United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. said, “Ripping off the American taxpayer is bad enough. Using the fear and isolation of the COVID pandemic to do it is sickening." He went on, underlining how blatantly arrogant the crew was that they could get away with their misdeeds.

"Not only did Seyhun and his co-conspirators defraud the American public of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of fake services, but they were so confident in their scheme that they routinely submitted claims for payment before test kits were even delivered to the customer.”

Then there is this from Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the National Fraud Enforcement Division.

“At a time when Americans were scared for their families and their futures, Hasan Seyhun saw an opportunity to turn a national crisis into his own personal payday,” he said. “Instead of providing the American people with the assistance they needed during a critical time, Seyhun and his colleagues exploited their trust, and lined their pockets from fraudulent insurance claims." 

The Trump official made this promise to Americans: "The Fraud Division will not let up in its relentless pursuit of COVID era fraudsters.” 

Exactly right. Here's a tip for any wannabe criminals like these folks. If you think you are going to rip off the current cadre of stellar and relentless waste, fraud, and abuse investigators and legal beagles in the Trump administration, especially over the COVID mess that former Pres. Biden oversaw to a great degree, you're just fooling yourself - for the short term. You will be caught, held, and convicted for real justice in due course. 

You can find the full HHS report here.