Great Falls man indicted in alleged health care fraud targeting Walter Reed medical center

A group of eight people, including a 59-year-old Fairfax County man, has been charged with engaging in a scheme to defraud Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the federal government, authorites say.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland said Wednesday (April 6) that Akbar Masood of Great Falls was indicted by a grand jury for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and related charges.

Between 2017 and 2019, the individuals allegedly obtained approximately $3.3 million from Walter Reed medical center and the Defense Health Agency.

Marc Hall, the attorney representing Masood, said yesterday (Thursday) that he had no comment from his client on the case, which is being held in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland.

“If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud,” prosecutors said in a news release.

The grand jury charged Masood and six others with eight counts of wire fraud. Each count of wire fraud can come with a sentence up to 20 years as well as fines.

According to prosecutors, the scheme involved presenting documentation that claimed their contracting company could perform medical coding, but Masood and others allegedly used stolen identities of real people to sign agreements, among other allegations.

An indictment only signals that a grand jury thought there was enough evidence to charge a person with a crime.

Photo via Walter Reed National Military Medical Center