ISLAMABAD: The US Department of Health and Human Services this week sought information on four fugitives that it said had allegedly used a call center in Pakistan to steal Medicare Ids and flood Medicare with $703 million in fake claims. 

The Office of the Inspector General of the US health department said that Fizza Farid, Faizan Saleem, Shearyar Arif and Ruknuddin “Rick” Charolia used a call center by the name of Hello International Marketing Solutions (HIMS). It said the four fugitives used the call center to obtain Medicare beneficiary information, including Medicare beneficiary identification numbers (BINs) purportedly through theft and deception.

Medicare is the US federal health insurance program primarily serving Americans aged 65 and older, as well as certain younger people with disabilities.

“Four fugitives allegedly used a call center in Pakistan to steal Medicare ID’s and flood Medicare with $703M in fake claims,” the statement said. “They may be in Pakistan or the UAE.”

The inspector general’s office said the four participated in the health care fraud scheme by submitting false and fraudulent claims 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.”

It said the Pakistani call center 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. It added that consent for the Covid-19 test kits was allegedly sometimes faked through artificial intelligence.

The inspector general’s office said Farid worked on behalf of HIMS and was the nominee owner of a DME provider. The investigation details said Farid was allegedly recruited by her co-conspirators to assist, without lawful authority, in the sale, distribution, and/or arrangement for the sale or distribution of Medicare BINs and other information.

“It is believed that Faird fled the US to Pakistan in late April 2025 for the purpose of concealing and hiding the acts done in furtherance of the scheme,” it added.

The statement reminded public that charges against the four are “merely allegations” and that they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

This is not the first time that Pakistani nationals have been involved in fraud schemes related to health care in the US. In February 2026, two Pakistani nationals were indicted in Chicago for allegedly participating in a $10 million health care fraud scheme that targeted Medicare and private insurers.

Burhan Mirza, 31, a resident of Pakistan and Kashif Iqbal, 48, who lived in Texas, were charged with submitting fraudulent claims for medical services and equipment that were never provided, according to an indictment filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.