A $500 million nationwide 'no cost' COVID-19 test billing scheme
Fast Lab Technologies, LLC marketed "no cost" COVID-19 tests online, collecting customers' insurance information and using it to bill government and private health insurers, including Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE, for antigen tests, saliva sample collection and CR testing that were never performed as represented, in some instances before test kits had even shipped to the customer. Prosecutors say the scheme logged more than $500 million in claims nationwide and resulted in at least $35 million in illicit payments. Hasan "Lucas" Seyhun of Miami, Florida, the company's chief operating officer, pleaded guilty on September 23, 2026 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and agreed to forfeit $4,313,153, the amount he personally received. Fast Lab's CEO, Cemhan "Jimmy" Biricik, and its medical director, Dr. Martin Perlin, were charged in July 2025 and had not been reported convicted, sentenced or acquitted as of this page's last review; the allegations against them are allegations only, and both are presumed innocent unless and until a court finds otherwise.
- Year
- 2026
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Convicted
- Reported loss
- $35.0 million
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- COVID-19 test billing fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-28
The facts, as recorded
- Fast Lab Technologies, LLC, based in New York, advertised free, 'no cost' COVID-19 tests ordered online.
- The company used customers' insurance information to bill for services never provided, including antigen tests supposedly observed by medical professionals, saliva samples supposedly collected by medical personnel, and testing supposedly performed on those samples.
- Prosecutors said the company submitted claims for payment before test kits had even been delivered to the customer who ordered them.
- The nationwide scheme logged more than $500 million in claims to government-backed and private health insurance programs, resulting in at least $35 million in illicit payments.
- Hasan 'Lucas' Seyhun, of Miami, Florida, Fast Lab's chief operating officer, pleaded guilty on September 23, 2026 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
- Seyhun agreed to a forfeiture money judgment of $4,313,153, representing the money he personally received from the scheme.
- Cemhan 'Jimmy' Biricik, 46, of Boca Raton, Florida, Fast Lab's CEO, and Dr. Martin Perlin, 74, of Fairfield, Connecticut, the company's medical director, were charged on July 31, 2025 with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and more than 50 counts of health care fraud; Perlin is alleged to have ordered the majority of the tests billed.
- The case was brought by the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, with officials from the Justice Department's Fraud Section, IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI, the Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General and the HHS Office of Inspector General quoted in the announcement.
Why this case matters
It is the largest billed total among the cases documented on this scheme’s page, and it shows how a single online operation, rather than a network of small local labs, could reach a nationwide scale. It also shows a case at two different points in the legal process at once: one defendant has pleaded guilty, while two others remain only charged.
Billed before the kit ever shipped
Prosecutors said Fast Lab submitted claims for payment before test kits had even been delivered to the customer who ordered them, a detail that distinguishes this case from ones where a real specimen was at least collected before the billing began.
Three defendants, three different stages
Seyhun has pleaded guilty and admitted the scheme’s broad outlines. Biricik and Perlin, charged a year earlier, had not been reported convicted, sentenced or acquitted as of this page’s last review. The charges against them are allegations, not findings, and both are presumed innocent unless and until a court finds otherwise.
The caveat
The facts about Seyhun above are drawn from his own guilty plea and the Justice Department’s and IRS Criminal Investigation’s accounts of it. The facts about Biricik and Perlin are drawn from the charging announcement alone and describe what prosecutors allege, not what any court has found proven.
Sources
- Chief Operating Officer Pleads Guilty for Role in $500M COVID-19 Test Billing Fraud. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Accessed 2026-10-28. Supports: Seyhun's identity and plea, Fast Lab's 'no cost' online marketing, the billing of services never provided, claims submitted before kits shipped, the $500 million logged and $35 million in illicit payments, the $4,313,153 forfeiture, the named co-defendants Biricik and Perlin, and the officials' quotes.
- CEO and Medical Director Charged in $500M COVID-19 Test Billing Fraud. US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. Accessed 2026-10-28. Supports: The July 31, 2025 charging date against Fast Lab's CEO and medical director, the $500 million nationwide scheme, and the description of billing Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE for COVID-19 testing services never rendered.