A 35-year-old Indian national, Mohammed Asif, was sentenced to two years in a US federal prison for running a Medicare fraud scheme that stole more than $1 million. He owned American Labworks LLC, a diagnostic lab based in Everett. The US district court in Seattle convicted him of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, reported KOMO News. Prosecutors said Asif and his team billed Medicare for COVID-19 and respiratory illness tests that beneficiaries never received and doctors never ordered. His lab submitted claims worth over $8 million, with Medicare paying out over $1.1 million. Judge James Robart ordered Asif to pay $1,174,813 in restitution. He said the case was about money “siphoned out of the Medicare system that is designed to treat the elderly and the poor,” adding Asif “lacks moral character as a knowing participant in the fraud.” Between mid-2024 and 2025, investigators got more than 200 complaints from people who were billed for tests they never had. Bills were even sent under the names of doctors who had no connection to the lab. Some claims were filed after the patient or doctor had died. American Labworks started in October 2021 and closed in March 2025. Its testing license expired in December 2023. Records show Asif controlled the company’s bank account and took out $260,000 in May 2024 before travelling to India. He came back in March 2025 as the investigation tightened and was arrested on April 10 at Chicago O’Hare Airport while trying to board a flight. A grand jury indicted Asif later that April. He pleaded guilty on September 4. US Attorney Neil Floyd said, “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.” FBI Seattle chief W Mike Herrington said, “In just a couple of years, his company billed Medicare millions of dollars for laboratory testing that never happened.” Asif was in the US on a student visa. Authorities said he will likely be deported after his prison term. The probe into his accomplices is ongoing.