The FBI has successfully apprehended a notorious fugitive charged with embezzling over $500 million from Medicare. This arrest culminates a global pursuit and marks the third capture from the FBI’s highly publicized “Most Wanted Fraudsters” list.
Charged in 2019 by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida, Khalid Ahmed Satary was apprehended abroad after evading law enforcement for nearly three years. His arrest came after he allegedly broke the terms of his pretrial release last year, leading to the issuance of a federal warrant.
“The capture and extradition of Khalid Ahmed Satary signify a major victory in our ongoing battle against fraud,” remarked FBI Director Kash Patel in a recent statement. This marks the third capture of a high-profile fraudster within the past five weeks, highlighting the unprecedented success of this relatively new initiative.
FBI CAPTURES $1.2B MEDICARE FRAUD FUGITIVE IN PHILIPPINES, SECOND ARREST FROM MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS LIST
The FBI confirms that Khalid Ahmed Satary, after almost three years on the lam, was taken into custody overseas. (FBI)
Patel said Satary is accused of participating in a conspiracy that fraudulently billed Medicare for $547 million worth of expensive and medically unnecessary genetic tests between 2016 and 2019. According to the FBI, the scheme relied on deceptive marketing campaigns, illegal kickbacks and bribes to generate fraudulent Medicare claims.
“This defendant allegedly orchestrated a massive fraud scheme that preyed on thousands of elderly patients, deceiving them into undergoing expensive, medically unnecessary tests and fraudulently billing the government for more than half a billion dollars,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “Thanks to the outstanding work of our partners at the FBI, this defendant was brought back from overseas to face justice in the United States. Our message to fraudsters is clear: If you steal from American taxpayers and exploit vulnerable patients, we will find and prosecute you, no matter where you are.”
Patel said Satary “exploited a program dedicated to helping our most vulnerable and instead stole for himself.”
Satary is accused of participating in a conspiracy that fraudulently billed Medicare for $547 million worth of expensive and medically unnecessary genetic tests between 2016 and 2019. (FBI)
The FBI said Satary was apprehended overseas through coordination with U.S. and international law enforcement partners and was expected to land in the United States Tuesday morning. He was scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday afternoon. The case is being handled by the FBI’s Miami Field Office.
“This defendant is alleged to have engaged in a massive fraud scheme that preyed on elderly patients, duped them into taking expensive and unnecessary genetic tests, and billed the United States more than half a billion dollars,” Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division said. “As today’s arrest shows, there is no safe haven for fraudsters who seek to exploit vulnerable Americans or our Nation’s critical health care programs.”
Patel also linked Satary’s arrest to the Trump administration’s broader effort to combat fraud against taxpayers.
Satary’s arrest marks the third capture since the FBI launched its Most Wanted Fraudsters list five weeks ago, Patel said. (FBI)
“This is just the latest example showing President Trump’s and Vice President Vance’s White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud will not be deterred in our mission to track down each and every fraudster who allegedly steals from American taxpayers,” Patel said. “And it’s yet another high-value target returned from overseas by this FBI — the 27th such transfer since June.”
Satary’s arrest marks the third capture since the FBI launched its Most Wanted Fraudsters list five weeks ago, an initiative aimed at locating and apprehending fugitives accused of large-scale financial crimes.
Last month, Said Abdullahi Ereg, a former Minneapolis grocery and deli owner wanted on federal charges since 2024, surrendered to federal authorities after being added to the list. Prosecutors allege Ereg fraudulently obtained more than $4.2 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A week later, the FBI arrested Herbert Leon Kimble, 60, in the Philippines after authorities said he spent nearly two years on the run. Kimble is accused of orchestrating a $1.2 billion Medicare fraud conspiracy.