WASHINGTON — A man indicted in connection with what prosecutors describe as one of the largest health care fraud cases ever charged by the Department of Justice has been arrested and returned to the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and DOJ announced Tuesday.

Khalid Satary was apprehended July 20 in the Middle East and transferred into U.S. custody. He was found with a fake Mexican passport under a fake name, the DOJ said. 

Satary was originally indicted in 2019 in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Prosecutors allege he owned and operated laboratories in Louisiana, Georgia and Oklahoma that billed Medicare for more than $547 million in medically unnecessary genetic tests between 2016 and 2019.

According to prosecutors, the scheme involved patient recruiters, telemarketing call centers and telemedicine companies. Satary's laboratories allegedly used deceptive marketing campaigns along with illegal kickbacks and bribes paid to doctors and patient recruiters.

The government seized 16 bank accounts and restrained real estate connected to the indictment. Satary was released on bond after the indictment, despite the government's objection, with a condition that he not work in health care.

While on bond, he allegedly conspired with Houston-based laboratories in Texas to keep submitting fraudulent genetic testing claims to Medicare. A federal arrest warrant was issued for him in December 2022 after he failed to appear for a court hearing and allegedly fled the country.

On June 23, the FBI added Satary to its Most Wanted Fraudsters List. He made his initial appearance in the Eastern District of Virginia following his transfer into U.S. custody.

Satary faces charges including conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks and bribes, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy counts, up to 10 years on the counts of health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and up to five years on the conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and to pay and receive kickbacks counts.