FBI nabs alleged $547M Medicare fraud fugitive overseas, third capture from 'Most Wanted Fraudsters' list

FIRST ON FOX: The FBI has captured a fugitive accused of stealing more than half a billion dollars from Medicare and leading authorities on an international manhunt, marking the third arrest from the bureau's "Most Wanted Fraudsters" list.

Khalid Ahmed Satary, who was indicted in 2019 in the Southern District of Florida, was arrested overseas after spending nearly three years on the run, according to the FBI. Authorities said Satary violated the conditions of his pretrial release in 2022, prompting 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 Fox News Digital in a statement.

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Patel said 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. According to the FBI, the scheme relied on deceptive marketing campaigns, illegal kickbacks and bribes to generate fraudulent Medicare claims.

"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.

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"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.