FBI ‘Most Wanted Fraudsters’ list scores third capture in five weeks
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FIRST ON FOX: The FBI captured a fugitive accused of stealing more than half a billion dollars from Medicare and prominent officials in an international manhunt, marking the third arrest on the bureau’s “Most Wanted Fraudsters” list.
Khalid Ahmed Satary, who was indicted in the Southern District of Florida in 2019, was arrested abroad after nearly three years on the run, according to the FBI. Satary violated the conditions of his pretrial release in 2022, prompting a federal arrest warrant, authorities said.
“With the arrest and return of Khalid Ahmed Satary to the United States, this is the third Most Wanted Fraud caught by the FBI and our partners in just five weeks; continuing this new initiative’s historic streak of success,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement to Fox News Digital. he said.
FBI CAPTURES $1.2 BILLION MEDICAL FRAUD FUGITIVE IN THE PHILIPPINES; HE WAS ARRESTED SECOND ON THE MOST WANTED FORgers LIST
Khalid Ahmed Satary was arrested abroad after spending nearly three years on the run, according to the FBI. (FBI)
Satary is accused of participating in a conspiracy to fraudulently bill Medicare for $547 million worth of expensive and medically unnecessary genetic tests between 2016 and 2019, Patel said. According to the FBI, the scheme relied on deceptive marketing campaigns, illegal kickbacks and bribes to create false Medicare claims.
“This defendant allegedly orchestrated a massive fraud scheme that targeted thousands of elderly patients, directed them to submit to expensive, medically unnecessary tests, and fraudulently billed the government for more than half a billion dollars,” said Acting Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. he said. “Thanks to the extraordinary work of our partners at the FBI, this defendant was brought back from abroad 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 you and prosecute you wherever you are.”
Patel said Satary “took advantage of a program dedicated to helping the most vulnerable people and instead stole it 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 captured abroad with the cooperation of U.S. and international law enforcement and is expected to land in the United States on Tuesday morning. He is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court Tuesday afternoon. The case is being handled by the FBI’s Miami Field Office.
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“This defendant is alleged to have been involved in a massive fraud scheme that targeted elderly patients, manipulated them into obtaining expensive and unnecessary genetic testing, and billed the United States for more than half a billion dollars,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Department of Justice’s National Anti-Fraud Section. he said. “As today’s arrest shows, there is no safe haven for fraudsters seeking to exploit vulnerable Americans or our Nation’s critical health care programs.”
Patel also linked Satary’s arrest to the Trump administration’s broader efforts to combat taxpayer fraud.
Patel said Satary’s arrest is the third since the FBI released its Most Wanted Fraudsters list five weeks ago. (FBI)
“This is the latest example that President Trump and Vice President Vance’s White House Fraud Elimination Task Force will not be deterred in our mission to pursue every single fraudster who allegedly steals from American taxpayers,” Patel said. “And this is another high-value target brought in from abroad by the FBI, the 27th transfer since June.”
Satary’s arrest marks the third capture since the FBI launched its Most Wanted Crooks list five weeks ago, an initiative aimed at locating and capturing fugitives accused of large-scale financial crimes.
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Said Abdullahi Ereg, a former Minneapolis grocery store and delicatessen owner wanted on federal charges since 2024, surrendered to federal authorities after being added to the list last month. 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 60-year-old Herbert Leon Kimble in the Philippines after authorities said he spent nearly two years on the run. Kimble is accused of masterminding a $1.2 billion Medicare fraud conspiracy.
