In recent developments, Nerik Ilyayev and Mukhiddin Kadirov have pleaded guilty to their involvement in various criminal schemes, including HIV medication fraud, no-fault automobile insurance fraud, and money laundering. These schemes collectively amounted to over $6 million. Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced these guilty pleas.
Nerik Ilyayev pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, as he used two different pharmacies to defraud Medicare, Medicaid, and no-fault automobile insurance providers. He recruited low-income HIV patients to fill prescriptions for expensive HIV medications, submitted fraudulent insurance claims, and used false identities to conceal his role in the fraud. Medicare and Medicaid paid approximately $5.2 million in fraudulent claims.
After shutting down Pharmacy-1, Ilyayev took control of Pharmacy-2 in Queens, New York, using another false identity. Pharmacy-2 defrauded no-fault automobile insurance providers of approximately $1.2 million and unlawfully sold pharmaceuticals obtained from illegitimate sources.
Mukhiddin Kadirov participated in a money laundering network primarily focused on laundering healthcare fraud proceeds. The network deposited checks from healthcare companies into New York-based bank accounts held by shell companies, making the transactions appear less suspicious. Cash collected from individuals wanting to remit funds, often to Uzbekistan, was then provided to the conspirators controlling the shell companies. Kadirov laundered approximately $4.2 million of Pharmacy-1’s fraud proceeds through shell companies and concealed his involvement.
Nerik Ilyayev faces a maximum potential sentence of 10 years in prison, while Mukhiddin Kadirov faces a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison. The sentencing will be determined by the judge.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, the National Insurance Crime Bureau, and the Investigations Medicare Drug Integrity Contractor. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cecilia E. Vogel is leading the prosecution.
By FCCT Editorial Team
, an independent military force, and allied militias in Sudan raped several dozen women and girls in West Darfur’s capital, El Geneina, and those fleeing to Chad between late April and late June 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The assailants appear to have targeted people because of their Massalit ethnicity and, in some cases, because they were known activists.){kind=link}