A Pakistani-origin doctor at the centre of a nearly $300 million COVID scandal in the United States was arrested in Serbia. Accused Anosh Ahmed is a former Loretto Hospital executive and he had previously fled the US following an indictment related to allegations that he defrauded the federal government.
According to court documents filed this week, the ex-Loretto chief financial officer was captured on November 30, US reports noted. As he remains in custody in Serbia, the US government is urging for his extradition to America to face charges. As per the Chicago Sun Times, Ahmed’s petition to be released to a hotel in the Serbian capital Belgrade was denied in December 2025.
“It is unknown if Ahmed will be extradited, and if he is, it is unknown when,” Assistant US Attorneys Sheri Mecklenburg and Kelly Guzman wrote in the filing.
Dr Anosh Ahmed fled to Dubai: Fraud charges
Ahmed is also believed to have been a part of a group linked to Loretto Hospital. Together, he and the others have been accused of stealing patient data to bill $900 million worth of bogus COVID-19 tests, CBS News reported. Of the $900 million reimbursement claims, he and his alleged conspirator received about $300 million.
The man wanted in the US reportedly continued collecting COVID-19 samples at the behest of the small West Chicago hospital even after he was no longer tied to the hospital.
Block Club Chicago, which was the first outlet to break the word on the Loretto Hospital controversy, previously reported that the hospital vaccinated Trump Tower employees. On top of that, Ahmed is even believed to have had a condo in the multi-storied Chicago skyscraper.
The local Chicago outlet also disclosed that Anosh Ahmed had immigrated to the US as a child from Pakistan. He eventually went on to pursue a medical degree, also building his image as a businessman. After fleeing the US, he led an affluent life in Dubai while avoiding the accountability for the charges he faced in America.
Charges against Pakistani-origin doctor wanted in US
In a separate case, the former hospital executive was charged in a $15 million embezzlement scheme, following which he allegedly fled to Dubai. Alongside the Pak-born doctor, Heather Bergdahl and Sameer Suhail were also charged in 2024 with multiple counts of wire fraud.
The trio allegedly created fake documents, including invoices and payment requests, containing inaccurate information about goods and services that were never provided to the West Side medical facility, as per local US news outlet WTTW.
Sameer Suhail, who is also charged in the COVID-19 testing scheme that defrauded the federal government, was Ahmed’s friend, business partner and neighbour at Trump Tower, as per Block Club Chicago.
Anosh Ahmed resigned from Loretto in March 2021. Shortly after his exit, then-hospital CEO George Miller was suspended from his position for two weeks after he admitted to arranging for vaccines for people not eligible to get them, including Trump Tower employees.
According to a Dr Anosh Ahmed LinkedIn profile, the doctor is also the founder and CEO of Texas-based Anosh Inc, a multi-asset investment and consulting firm. The professional platform further indicated he sought higher education at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Windsor University School of Medicine. He also got an MBA degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Charges against Ahmed in connection with the case against the US government include 14 counts of fraud, conspiracy to defraud the government, 2 count of wrongful remuneration involving federal health care programs, wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information and 5 counts of money laundering, as per the COVID-19 scheme-related indictment shared online by the Department of Justice.