Fairfield Man Accused Of Involvement In $500 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme: U.S. Attorney

FAIRFIELD, CT — Federal authorities have charged a 74-year-old Fairfield man, and a Florida man, in connection with an alleged scheme to fraudulently bill more than $500 million to Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and private insurers for COVID-19 testing services that were never provided, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Fairfield resident Dr. Martin Perlin, and Cemhan "Jimmy" Biricik, 46, of Boca Raton, FL were charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and more than 50 counts of health care fraud, according to U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. in the Eastern District of Michigan.

Biricik, the CEO and sole member of New York-based Fast Lab Technologies, LLC, and Perlin, the company’s medical director, were arrested Thursday morning.

According to the indictment, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fast Lab promoted free testing through its website, collecting insurance information from individuals who requested test kits. Prosecutors allege that the company then used that information to submit false claims for both antigen and PCR tests, including multiple claims for the same individuals.

The indictment states that Fast Lab falsely represented that tests were supervised by medical professionals, that saliva samples were collected and returned for analysis, and that lab testing was conducted. In most cases, prosecutors allege, tests were taken at home without supervision, saliva samples were never submitted, and no laboratory analysis occurred.

Perlin is accused of authorizing the tests despite having no treating relationship with the individuals. Authorities also allege that Fast Lab often submitted claims before the test kits were shipped.

Biricik is accused of billing or directing the billing of more than $500 million and receiving over $50 million in payments.

The investigation involves multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the Department of Labor, the IRS, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, among others.

Gorgon emphasized that both men are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Regina R. McCullough and Ryan A. Particka. Assistance was also provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.