FBI Captures Overseas Fugitive Accused in $547M Medicare Fraud, Third Most Wanted Fraudsters Arrest

Khalid Ahmed Satary, a federal defendant indicted in 2019 in the Southern District of Florida, has been taken into custody overseas after nearly three years as a fugitive, the FBI said. Investigators said Satary fled after violating the terms of his pretrial release in 2022, leading to the issuance of a federal arrest warrant.

“The arrest of Khalid Ahmed Satary and return to the U.S. is the third Most Wanted Fraudster capture from this FBI and our partners in just five weeks — continuing the historic run of success for this new initiative,” FBI Director Kash Patel told INC News in a statement.

FBI CAPTURES $1.2B MEDICARE FRAUD FUGITIVE IN PHILIPPINES, SECOND ARREST FROM MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS LIST

Federal authorities allege Satary helped drive a sprawling Medicare fraud conspiracy that submitted $547 million in claims for costly genetic tests that were medically unnecessary between 2016 and 2019. The FBI said the operation used misleading marketing tactics, unlawful kickbacks and bribes to produce fraudulent Medicare billings.

“This defendant allegedly orchestrated a massive fraud scheme that preyed on thousands of elderly patients, deceiving them into undergoing expensive, medically unnecessary tests and fraudulently billing the government for more than half a billion dollars,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “Thanks to the outstanding work of our partners at the FBI, this defendant was brought back from overseas 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 and prosecute you, no matter where you are.”

Patel said Satary “exploited a program dedicated to helping our most vulnerable and instead stole for himself.”

The FBI said Satary was apprehended overseas through coordination with U.S. and international law enforcement partners and was expected to land in the United States Tuesday morning. He was scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday afternoon. The case is being handled by the FBI’s Miami Field Office.

“This defendant is alleged to have engaged in a massive fraud scheme that preyed on elderly patients, duped them into taking expensive and unnecessary genetic tests, and billed the United States more than half a billion dollars,” Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division said. “As today’s arrest shows, there is no safe haven for fraudsters who seek to exploit vulnerable Americans or our Nation’s critical health care programs.”

Patel also linked Satary’s arrest to the Trump administration’s broader effort to combat fraud against taxpayers.

“This is just the latest example showing President Trump’s and Vice President Vance’s White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud will not be deterred in our mission to track down each and every fraudster who allegedly steals from American taxpayers,” Patel said. “And it’s yet another high-value target returned from overseas by this FBI — the 27th such transfer since June.”

Satary’s arrest marks the third capture since the FBI launched its Most Wanted Fraudsters list five weeks ago, an initiative aimed at locating and apprehending fugitives accused of large-scale financial crimes.

Last month, Said Abdullahi Ereg, a former Minneapolis grocery and deli owner wanted on federal charges since 2024, surrendered to federal authorities after being added to the list. 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 Herbert Leon Kimble, 60, in the Philippines after authorities said he spent nearly two years on the run. Kimble is accused of orchestrating a $1.2 billion Medicare fraud conspiracy.