Ruknuddin “Rick” Charolia

From about January 2023 to April 2025, in the Northern District of Illinois and elsewhere, Ruknuddin Charolia allegedly participated in a health care fraud scheme in which false and fraudulent claims were submitted to Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans for over-the-counter Covid-19 test kits, durable medical equipment (DME) products, and genetic tests that were not requested, not medically necessary, and/or not provided to the beneficiaries. Charolia and a co-conspirator operated a call center in Pakistan called Hello International Marketing Solutions (HIMS), that obtained Medicare beneficiary information, including Medicare beneficiary identification numbers (BINs), purportedly through theft and deception. HIMS then contacted beneficiaries to obtain patient consent for the DME products, Covid-19 test kits, and genetic tests, even though the products and services were often not requested or medically necessary.

Charolia and three of his co-conspirators were charged with submitting approximately $703 million in suspected fraudulent claims for products and services that were not requested, not medically necessary, or not provided to beneficiaries, receiving approximately $418 million from Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans.

The public is reminded that charges are merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.