Mercer Man Among 4 Indicted In $3.5M COVID Testing Kickback Scheme: Feds

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — Four people, including a man from Robbinsville, were charged for their roles in a kickback scheme involving COVID-19 testing kits that defrauded federal health insurance programs, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Wednesday.

Muhammed Aurangzeb, 45, of Robbinsville; Abid Syed, 45, of East Hanover; Tariq Din, 55, of Saddle River; and David Weathers, 59, of the Bronx, New York were charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback statute for their roles in a scheme to defraud Medicare and the Health Resources and Services Administration COVID-19 Uninsured Program.

On Wednesday, Aurangzeb and Weathers had their initial appearances via videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge José R. Almonte.

Aurangzeb was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond and Weathers consented to detention. Syed and Din were charged by a criminal complaint on April 11.

From April 2021 to April 2022, Syed and Din operated and controlled Metpath Laboratories in Parsippany, which conducted COVID-19 testing. Through Metpath, Syed and Din paid kickbacks to “marketers” – including Weathers and Aurangzeb – for referrals of COVID-19 test samples, according to court documents.

Aurangzeb and Weathers were paid $5 to $30 each per referral, Sellinger said.

The men tried to make the payments appear to be for legitimate business expenses. Syed altered the amount of the kickback payment to make it appear as if the marketer was a “consultant” for Metpath with legitimate business expenses, according to court documents.

Weathers’ company, MedtechCares Inc., also issued false invoices to Metpath, when in fact the payments were completely for the referrals, Sellinger said.

Metpath received more than $3.5 million in insurance reimbursements from federal health insurance programs for COVID-19 test samples referred by Weathers and Aurangzeb, according to court documents.

The charge of conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison. The maximum fine for each count is $250,000, or twice the gross profit or loss caused by the offense, whichever is greatest, officials said.

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