- Dr. Anosh Ahmed has been charged with multiple felony counts where he is alleged to have defrauded taxpayers out of $293 million from a scheme involving fraudulent COVID testing payments
- Ahmed is a federal fugitive who is believed to have absconded to Dubai
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has received $190k in campaign contributions from Ahmed since October 2022, making Ahmed one of his biggest donors
Dr. Anosh Ahmed, a major donor to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, is facing new federal charges alleging that he defrauded American taxpayers out of more than $293 million.
The Texas Voice previously reported that Ahmed, who has donated $190,000 to Paxton since 2022, is a federal fugitive who is believed to have absconded to Dubai. Ahmed was indicted last year on criminal charges alleging that he was part of a scheme that embezzled more than $15 million from a Chicago hospital where he once worked.
A review of Texas and federal campaign finance data by The Texas Voice indicated that Paxton is the only candidate or officeholder who files campaign finance reports with the Texas Ethics Commission or the Federal Election Commission that Ahmed has made political contributions to.
In a new indictment that was unsealed last week, Ahmed and three co-defendants are alleged to have devised a scheme where they submitted false claims to the Health Resources and Services Administration for COVID-19 tests that were purportedly performed for uninsured individuals when, in fact, no such testing had been done. According to the indictment, “the false claims sought reimbursement in the amount of approximately $894,520,064, resulting in payments for such false claims in the amount of approximately $293,221,468.”
Ahmed is charged with fourteen counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, two counts of illegal remunerations for acts involving federal health care programs, one count of wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information, and three counts of money laundering.
These new charges are in addition to the charges Ahmed was already facing in the other indictment that was unsealed last year.
In addition to the criminal charges brought in the new indictment, the United States Department of Justice is also seeking the forfeiture of more than $100 million in assets from Ahmed that the government has already seized, as well as the forfeiture of other real estate and luxury cars owned by Ahmed.
Most of Ahmed’s donations to Paxton were made after the federal government began seizing Ahmed’s assets. According to the indictment, a 2020 Rolls Royce Phantom owned by Ahmed was seized on or about August 9, 2023. This was followed by the seizure of $50.5 million in funds held in a Merrill Lynch account and partnership interests in an investment fund that were initially purchased for $35 million on or about December 7, 2023, followed by additional seizures of securities, interests, and funds on or about December 22, 2023, and May 10, 2024.
Of the $190,000 Ahmed has donated to Paxton since October 24, 2022, $150,000 was donated after federal authorities began seizing Ahmed’s assets. The $190,000 Ahmed has donated to Paxton over the past three years has made him one of Paxton’s top donors during that time.
