Shafiulla Abdul Hanif

In May 2009, Shafiulla Abdul Hanif was indicted on charges of health care Fraud Conspiracy, health care Fraud, Money Laundering Conspiracy, and Criminal Forfeiture. Investigators believe that Hanif and his co-conspirators submitted over $18 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for medical treatments and services that were not provided or were medically unnecessary.

According to court documents, Hanif was a co-owner and controller of TriStar Rehab Services, Inc. (TriStar); S.U.B. Rehabilitation & Physical Therapy Center, Inc. (S.U.B); Hands-On Rehab Services, Inc. (HOR); and M&M Management, Inc. (M&M). All companies were located in the Detroit Area. TriStar and S.U.B. allegedly provided outpatient physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech pathology services to patients. M&M and HOR allegedly hired and maintained licensed and unlicensed therapists to provide physical and occupational therapy to patients.

Investigators believe that from January 2003 through March 2007, Hanif and his co-conspirators paid Medicare beneficiaries to sign Medicare reimbursement forms for medical treatments and services at their businesses that were actually not provided or were medically unnecessary. Through their companies, Hanif and his co-conspirators then fraudulently filed reimbursement forms with Medicare, seeking over $18 million in payment for these false medical services and treatments.

Hanif fled the United States once he was confronted about his participation in the scheme, and he remains at large. Co-conspirators Muhammad Azeem and Anupal Gayen also fled the United States and remain fugitives. Co-conspirators Suresh Chand, Jaquita Lovelace, Syed Aziz, Solomon Nathaniel, Jay Jha, Baskaran Thangarasan, and Sandeep Aggarwal each pleaded guilty and were sentenced to a combined 22 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $9.7 million in restitution, joint and several.