Chicago Hospital CFO NABBED in Serbia

Person reading news headline Scandal Unfolds on tablet

A former Chicago hospital CFO is now sitting in a Serbian jail after prosecutors say he exploited pandemic-era emergency programs in a scheme so large it could top $800 million in bogus COVID testing claims.

Story Snapshot

Anosh Ahmed, former CFO of Loretto Hospital in Chicago, was arrested in Serbia in November 2025 after U.S. prosecutors say he fled federal fraud charges.
Federal filings and multiple outlets describe a COVID-19 testing reimbursement scheme involving hundreds of millions of dollars, with some reporting totals exceeding $800 million in submissions.
Prosecutors allege patient information tied to more than 150,000 people was accessed and used to bill for tests that were never performed.
The U.S. submitted formal extradition paperwork in January 2026; Ahmed remains in custody as Serbian courts weigh the request.

Arrest in Serbia Puts a Fugitive Executive Back on the Clock

Serbian authorities arrested Anosh Ahmed in November 2025, and U.S. prosecutors later made the arrest public through court filings that outline an extradition push. Federal officials submitted formal extradition documentation on January 23, 2026, according to reporting that tracks the case. A Serbian court also rejected a request to move Ahmed to a hotel in Belgrade, keeping him in custody while the extradition process continues.

The case timeline matters because it shows how long pandemic-era fraud allegations can linger—and how hard it can be to bring a defendant home once they leave the country. Ahmed was indicted in 2024, authorities believe he traveled abroad after being charged, and the current schedule still points to a U.S. trial date in mid-2026, with his attorney seeking a delay into September.

How the Alleged COVID Testing Scheme Worked—and Why the Dollar Figures Vary

Prosecutors allege Ahmed orchestrated a massive fraud scheme involving fraudulent COVID-19 testing claims submitted for federal reimbursement between June 2021 and March 2022. Several outlets characterize the case as one of the largest pandemic-related healthcare fraud matters, but reported amounts differ. Some reports focus on roughly $290–$300 million tied to specific charges or counts, while others describe totals that exceed $800 million in fraudulent submissions.

That discrepancy does not automatically mean the reporting is unreliable; it can reflect different accounting in a complex case—total billed amounts versus amounts tied to certain transactions or charged conduct. What is consistent across coverage is the core allegation: claims were submitted for tests that were never performed. If proven, that would represent a direct siphoning of taxpayer-backed funds that were supposed to help the country navigate an emergency.

Patient Data and Identity Exposure: The Often-Ignored Cost

Beyond the money, prosecutors allege the scheme involved unlawfully accessing personal information connected to more than 150,000 patients. For ordinary Americans, that detail is not abstract. Medical and personal identifiers can fuel downstream identity theft problems that take years to unwind. The allegation also underscores a governance failure: hospital systems store intensely sensitive data, and fraud cases like this raise questions about how internal access is monitored and controlled.

For conservatives who watched Washington dump trillions into fast-moving COVID programs with looser guardrails, this case fits a familiar pattern: emergency spending created opportunities for bad actors to exploit complexity, weak oversight, and rushed reimbursement pipelines. The public still lacks a clear accounting of how much fraud was prevented versus paid out, and cases like this show why aggressive audits and prosecutions remain a constitutional necessity—equal justice for politically connected executives and everyday citizens alike.

From Vaccine Scandal to Testing Fraud Allegations: A Trail of Institutional Breakdown

Ahmed’s resignation from Loretto Hospital in March 2021 followed controversy over improper vaccine distribution, including vaccination events held at upscale locations during a period of limited supply. Local reporting described how the hospital’s “safety-net” mission clashed with those choices, and the Chicago Department of Public Health temporarily cut off Loretto’s vaccine supply before restoring it about a month later after additional oversight measures were put in place.

That earlier episode matters because it shows the allegations did not appear out of nowhere; they emerged from a period when leadership decisions at a taxpayer-facing institution drew scrutiny. Multiple co-defendants remain in the United States facing charges connected to the broader case, and related civil litigation has also been reported. The extradition decision in Serbia now determines whether U.S. courts can test the government’s evidence in an open proceeding.