An insurance broker in the District of Columbia was found guilty of committing 22 counts of fraud, making false statements and identity theft in a scheme against CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.
According to investigators, insurance broker Tarek Abou-Katwa was involved in a scheme to defraud CareFirst BCBS by creating fake employees and changing birthdays of real employees to get lower insurance premiums. He also used the scheme to inflate rates charged to clients and keep the difference, amounting to more than $2 million, according to investigators.
A federal jury found Mr. Abou-Katwa, owner of Benefits Consulting Associates, guilty of committing one count of healthcare fraud, three counts of making false statements, seven counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud and five counts of identity theft. His sentencing is scheduled for March 2020.