Ex-Chicago hospital exec, friend accused in massive Medicare scam at Loretto Hospital living large in Dubai

Dr. Anosh Ahmed and Dr. Sameer Suhail, entrepreneurs as well as medical doctors, had matching cars, a matching taste for luxury watches and matching condos at Trump Tower.

They also come from similar backgrounds, immigrating to the United States as children — Ahmed from Pakistan, Suhail from Jordan — and got their medical degrees from overseas schools and built images as businessmen flush with cash.

For more than a year, they’ve also been fugitives — living expensive lifestyles in Dubai while dodging accountability for the damage prosecutors say they caused the West Side’s Loretto Hospital, a safety-net facility serving the poorest Chicagoans.

Prosecutors say Ahmed and Suhail worked together to embezzle $15 million from Loretto, a taxpayer-funded hospital, and steered $19 million of hospital contracts to Suhail through “corrupt” means, including bribery.

Ahmed also is charged in a separate COVID-19 testing scheme prosecutors say defrauded the government of about $300 million.

The charges came after Block Club Chicago investigations put a spotlight on Ahmed and Suhail.

Public records, videos and photos paint a picture of their new lives. Suhail has opened a luxury plastic surgery clinic in a posh neighborhood in Dubai, attends events with politicians and influencers, wearing designer watches and jeweled rings. Ahmed is making appeals to President Donald Trump in what appears to be a bid for clemency.

In the United States, they left behind tens of millions of dollars, pricey properties, expensive cars — and unpaid bills.

Others charged in the cases — people who worked for and were friendly with Ahmed and Suhail — have lost jobs, and most face potential prison time.

Ahmed and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment. According to his attorney, Adam Sheppard, Suhail is working with authorities to come back to the United States, but his return has been "delayed."

“Dr. Suhail traveled abroad prior to the filing of the indictment and has since led a law-abiding, productive life while continuing his professional work,” Sheppard said. “His return to the United States has been delayed due to a travel restriction stemming from an unrelated civil matter outside the country..

“Dr. Suhail, through counsel, is actively working with authorities to facilitate his prompt return so that he may address the charges and resolve the matter through the appropriate legal process.”

Ahmed knew about the investigations swirling around him before the charges came, according to court records. It’s likely Suhail also knew. One of their co-defendants — whom prosecutors say they stopped on a plane as she tried to flee to Dubai — said in court records she was aware of the investigation by 2022.

The case has been delayed as Ahmed and Suhail are fugitives, according to court records.

The United States does not have an extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates, but there are options to bring them back, an expert said.

The hospital they are accused of stealing millions from provides care to some of the most vulnerable people in Chicago. Many Loretto patients are low-income and under-insured, and it serves Austin, where most residents are Black or Latino, and the life expectancy is significantly lower than the citywide average.

When COVID vaccines became available in December 2020, Chicago’s leaders sent the city’s first doses to Loretto, wanting to show that people most at risk from the virus would be first to get protection.

But, in March 2021, Block Club reported that Ahmed had funneled Loretto Hospital’s COVID vaccines to people at a Gold Coast steakhouse, a luxury watch and jewelry shop and Trump Tower, where condos sell for millions. Ahmed bragged about vaccinating Eric Trump, one of President Donald Trump’s sons, text messages showed. Ahmed resigned from the hospital.

Block Club, with the Better Government Association, then reported that Loretto had provided millions in contracts to companies owned and operated by Suhail, who was Ahmed’s business partner, friend and next-door neighbor in Trump Tower.

Ahmed and Suhail damaged Loretto and the community it’s supposed to serve, said state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, who represents the West Side. Ford was on Loretto’s board but said he resigned in 2021 when he disagreed with other members about how to discipline Ahmed for the improper vaccinations.

“They actually duped an entire community, the West Side,” Ford said. “To steal from the community that was the hardest hit by COVID is devastating.”

In July 2024, prosecutors charged Ahmed and Suhail with wire fraud, embezzlement and money-laundering in the $15 million fraud case.

By then, they were gone.

Luxury plastic surgery in Dubai

In Dubai, Suhail opened a plastic surgery clinic, American Accelerated Aesthetics, in the high-end Jumeirah neighborhood, and has posted videos and photos of himself with luxury apparel and splashy cars.

Emirati records show American Accelerated Aesthetics was registered in 2018, but its website and social media pages didn’t become active until 2024, as Suhail moved to Dubai after the Loretto Hospital scandal made news. A social media post last September for the clinic said Suhail “recently relocated” to the area, describing him as a “successful entrepreneur, health care investor and philanthropist.”

The clinic offers major surgery such as “mommy makeovers” — a tummy tuck with breast surgery starting at about $12,200 — and Brazilian butt lifts as well as minor work such as laser hair removal, lip fillers, Botox and specialty IV drips.

Social media posts promote gold leaf, caviar-infused and salmon sperm facials. Ads with images of celebrities promise to give customers “fox eyes” like model Bella Hadid or tout breast-augmentation procedures next to an image of influencer Kylie Jenner. For those willing to spend enough, the clinic will send a driver in a Rolls-Royce to bring customers to their appointments.

On its website and social media, the business has said it’s a “branch” of the similarly named Accelerated Aesthetics, an Elmhurst clinic that offers medspa treatments such as facials and fillers. The Dubai business used the same logo as the Elmhurst clinic for several months after launching and still uses a similar logo.

Accelerated Aesthetics is registered in Indiana to Nikelle Guch, who says online she’s the Elmhurst clinic’s founder. Guch did not respond to requests for comment.

Accelerated Aesthetics posted a review to its Dubai doppelganger's Facebook page last September, saying, “As the founder of Accelerated Aesthetics in Chicago, I want to make it clear that we are in no way associated with this brand. …

“I want to emphasize that I do not endorse their practices or their brand. In light of recent articles regarding … the owner of this locations] indictment in Chicago, it has become crucial for me to distance myself and my business from them. I urge everyone to exercise caution and remain aware that we operate independently and are not affiliated in any capacity.”

In the Emirates, Suhail has posted photos and videos to social media that appear to show him wearing Richard Mille watches that retail for more than $250,000 each.

Watch brand Alandium, based in the Emirates, features Suhail in Instagram posts advertising one of its $1,100 watches. In Alandium photos and videos from November, Suhail is wearing a suit and $500 designer sunglasses around Dubai.

Suhail also appears in an ad for his clinic, wearing a designer sweatjacket whose maker charges about $1,700 for similar items. In the video, he drives a Cadillac and sits at a large desk in a spacious office.

“I have started so many different ventures in the United States and globally,” Suhail says in the ad. “I’m very happy and excited to be in the UAE.”

Suhail’s road to Dubai was bumpy — he left behind a series of unpaid bills and broken contracts.

Suhail and his wife, who worked at Loretto Hospital, got divorced in 2022. Suhail agreed to pay her spousal support of $20,000 a month for 24 years — a total of $5.76 million — and to cover all expenses for their younger child, court records show. They negotiated time-share agreements for their jet and yacht, and they were living in separate units at Trump Tower, according to the records.

Suhail bought a closed hospital in Patrick County, Virginia, telling Cardinal News, a local newspaper, in May 2022 that his company, Foresight Health, was “100% committed to investing in bringing a high-quality health care facility and elite health care services to Patrick County.”

But neighbors raised concerns about the investigation of Suhail’s actions at Loretto Hospital and Foresight’s plans for Patrick County, and the company backed out. In 2023, Foresight offered to donate the hospital property to Patrick County — if the county would pay half of the $1.63 million in expenses the company said it amassed working on the project, according to the Cardinal News. That included more than $586,000 for jet travel. At the same time, Foresight owed about $80,000 in real estate taxes to the county.

Foresight ended up selling the property to an Illinois company in March 2024 for $1.6 million — lower than its assessed value, according to a news report.

Suhail moved to Dubai in early June 2024. A month later, prosecutors announced the charges against him and Ahmed. Suhail’s American Accelerated Aesthetics clinic opened soon after.

Suhail had taken out a $2.8 million mortgage to buy a sprawling, multi-level condo at Tribune Tower, 435 N. Michigan Ave., but records show it was foreclosed on when he was in Dubai. The condo association sued him in 2024, saying he owed about $50,000. The Cook County sheriff’s office carried out an eviction order this year, noting no one was inside, according to court records.

PNC Bank sued Suhail, his ex-wife and one of their companies, Pan Optic Imaging, last year. Records show the judge in that case ruled the Suhails and their company must pay about $133,000 to PNC and that the U.S. marshals office could break in to one of the Suhails’ properties to take imaging equipment and return it to PNC.

Prorom, a contracting company based in Wood Dale, sued Suhail in 2024, saying he’d hired Prorom to work on a Skokie property but didn’t pay the company about $53,000. The small business ended up dropping the suit, noting no one had been able to serve Suhail, according to court records.

Since moving to Dubai, Suhail has said in videos that he’d like to expand his business to places including Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.

“I think we can do a lot in Dubai,” Suhail said in a March 2 Instagram video. “I think we can definitely, I can move a lot of my business ventures and expand my business ventures into this country. And I definitely feel like it’s gonna be very prosperous for the country and for myself.

“And it’s gonna benefit — tremendously — everybody.”

Appeals to Trump

At the center of the Loretto scandal with Suhail was Ahmed, the hospital’s former chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Ahmed resigned from Loretto in March 2021 amid scrutiny after Block Club reported on him providing Loretto’s COVID vaccines to well-connected people.

Ahmed returned to Houston, where he’d previously lived and operated nightclubs, and soon married, according to county records. He bought and sold several multimillion-dollar properties — including one described in a news report as a “miniature Daddy Warbucks mansion” — and started another business, Anosh Inc., which bills itself as an investment and consulting firm. He was planning to open an office in Dubai, according to court records.

Ahmed and his wife, who is from France, also registered several real estate-related companies there in 2023, records show.

During the same period, Ahmed orchestrated a conspiracy to defraud the government using his ties to Loretto Hospital, prosecutors have said.

Shortly after Ahmed resigned from Loretto Hospital, he used personal information stolen from Loretto’s patients to submit fake COVID-testing reimbursement claims to the government, according to prosecutors. Ahmed partnered with Chicago-based O'Hare Clinical Lab as part of the scheme and instructed workers to lie to government officials that his fake tests were being done through Loretto Hospital, prosecutors have said.

Ahmed, with others, also took control of several non-operational labs in Texas and continued the scheme, submitting fake claims to the government for COVID tests that weren’t done, according to prosecutors. Those involved sought reimbursements of about $900 million from the federal government — and got about $300 million, prosecutors have said.

Ahmed fled to Dubai by August 2023, according to court records.

Federal officials want to seize $50.5 million in a bank account Ahmed had and $42.3 million in securities and interests, according to court records. They’ve seized a 2020 Rolls-Royce Phantom, a 2022 Rolls-Royce Ghost, a 2021 Mercedes-Benz G-Class, a 2020 Lamborghini Huracan and four properties in Houston.

Ahmed says he manages $1.5 billion in assets through his latest venture, the Private Family Office of Anosh Ahmed, which bills itself online as a wealth management firm. The business — whose online history begins last year — claims to have offices in Dubai, London, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United States, with another opening “soon” in Singapore. It does not appear to be registered in Illinois, the Emirates or Texas.

In the United States, American Express is suing Ahmed in Texas, saying he racked up about $120,000 on a credit card before canceling it in July 2024 without paying off the balance.

Cintas, a uniform and supply company, is suing Ahmed for about $171,000, saying he didn’t pay for services it provided at Sekai, a Houston nightclub he owns.

While living abroad, Ahmed has put out dozens of news releases making questionable claims about charitable and entrepreneurial work. A recent one says a “UN-affiliated health organization” is working with him to “develop COVID-19 testing and vaccination protocols” in north Africa. One dated July 7 said Ahmed is expanding “his COVID-19 testing services” throughout the world — this was weeks after prosecutors announced the $300 million fake COVID-19 testing case.

Another news release said a foundation led by Ahmed — which isn’t registered with the IRS — will host a gala for Texas flood victims.

Another said Ahmed is setting up an Illinois-based PAC to “raise awareness around policy issues.” An Illinois State Board of Elections spokesperson said the agency has no record of a PAC associated with Ahmed. The Federal Election Commission also does not appear to have any recently created PACs associated with Ahmed.

In a June 22 news release, Ahmed said he’s setting up a cryptocurrency hub in a massive, vacant warehouse in Chicago. In another recent news release, Ahmed announced an AI data center on the West Side. A spokesperson for the city’s planning department said the city has no information about that.

The news releases frequently include edited photos of Ahmed, using the same, years-old image of his head pasted onto different bodies. They don’t mention the charges he’s facing or the scandals. They list an array of spokespeople to contact, but no one answers, and there doesn’t appear to be any record online of the people listed.

In recent months, the news releases have found a new focus: Ahmed is increasingly making overtures to Trump and Republicans and recrafting his online persona.

In the June 22 news release, Ahmed described himself as a “Republican leader” who is building the cryptocurrency hub in alignment with the “Trump administration’s push for American leadership” in cryptocurrency. The same news release listed Meghan Trump — who does not appear to exist — as a media contact and her phone number as the number for Chicago’s Trump Tower.

In a July 11 news release, Ahmed says he has a “deep commitment to American values and conservative leadership.” He also claims to have founded the Anosh Supports America First Foundation earlier this year, but it is not listed as a charity with the IRS.

“Being a proud Republican and believer in America First means stepping up when our people need help — not just with words, but with real action,” Ahmed said in the news release.

Ahmed had no public political roles in Chicago or Houston. Records from Harris County, Texas, where he maintained his residence, show he voted there once, in the 2020 general election. He never voted in Chicago, according to election board records.

Ahmed’s political contributions have been sporadic and bipartisan. Campaign-finance records show he gave a total of $12,000 to Ford when the Chicago Democrat ran for mayor in 2019, and he’s given $190,000 to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican running for the U.S. Senate, since October 2022.

Ahmed’s latest contribution to Paxton, a Trump ally, came in July 2024 — days after prosecutors unsealed the indictment charging Ahmed with embezzlement. He is one of Paxton’s top contributors. Paxton’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

A newly launched Instagram account and YouTube account from Ahmed advertise his next venture: a podcast to be called “The Anosh Ahmed Show.” It has posted two videos using stock video with an AI voiceover. On the show’s Instagram page, Ahmed calls himself a “patriot” and “target of political weaponization.”

“Many like me have been targeted due to political affiliations,” reads a since-deleted June 27 post from the account. “No matter the attacks, my loyalty remains with God, country, and the people.”

The caption is attached to an image that resembles the American flag — with the stars out of alignment and the blue cutting into a red stripe.

Reputation management

As Suhail and Ahmed have rebuilt their lives outside Chicago, it appears they’ve also attempted to rebuild their reputations.

Shortly after Block Club began reporting on Ahmed in 2021, news releases touting his supposed accomplishments began to be emailed to reporters and published online. The releases have grown more frequent — multiple times a week — with Ahmed portraying himself as a “Republican figure.” There also are social media pages that repost Ahmed’s news releases — sometimes multiple times a day.

As Suhail sought to create Foresight Hospital in Virginia in 2022, social media accounts about him appeared, including a Sameer Suhail Tumblr in which one post — repeated 20 times — reads: “Sameer Suhail Sameer Suhail Sameer Suhail.”

All of this appears to follow a common public relations strategy, said Karen North, a University of Southern California communication professor who specializes in brand building: “The best solution to pollution is dilution.”

“The bottom line is that, when you have a person in a crisis where there are negative stories being conveyed about them online, the easiest way to get rid of those stories is not to try to delete them — because it's almost impossible to delete or nullify stories or information that's searchable online,” North said. “Instead, what you do is you try to overwhelm the system by providing numerous other stories or numerous other posts that will appear first and people, out of just sheer fatigue, will never find the negative story.”

Is extradition possible?

Ahmed and Suhail aren’t the only people charged in the Loretto scandals, just the only ones who have not yet appeared before a judge.

Heather Bergdahl — who prosecutors say helped facilitate the embezzling and corruption schemes — was taken into custody as she boarded a flight bound for Dubai. Bergdahl worked at Loretto Hospital under Ahmed and followed him to Houston, where she worked for his company and charity. Charged with wire fraud, embezzlement and money laundering, she has pleaded not guilty.

Former Loretto chief executive officer George Miller has been charged with conspiracy to commit bribery. Prosecutors say he accepted about $770,000 to steer hospital contracts worth $19 million to Suhail’s companies with Ahmed. Miller has cooperated in the case and is considering a plea deal.

Two of Ahmed’s employees in Houston — Suhaib Ahmad Chaudhry and Mahmood “Sami” Khan — are facing charges connected to the $300 million fraud case. They have pleaded not guilty.

Mohamed “Siraj” Sirajudeen, who owned one of the labs involved in the case, turned himself in.

Jamil Elkoussa, a former employee of Suhail, has been accused of defrauding the government of $200 million in a fake COVID-testing case that resembles the one Ahmed is charged in, according to court records. Elkoussa also used a hospital — which is unnamed but, details show, was Loretto Hospital — as part of that scheme, according to court records. Elkoussa isn’t in custody. A warrant has been issued for his arrest, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Ahmed and Suhail haven’t been connected to that case.

Ahmed and Suhail appear to still be in Dubai — which has no extradition treaty with the United States. But that doesn’t mean extradition can’t happen, according to Jacques Semmelman, an extradition expert who was an assistant U.S. attorney in New York.

The Emirates has a “very good relationship with the United States — in particular, law enforcement,” Semmelman said. “Assuming the magnitude of the crime is serious enough to really get the attention of federal investigators, then potentially, yes,” federal authorities could work with the Emirates to seek extradition.

It’s difficult to estimate how long it could take to extradite Ahmed and Suhail if authorities pursue that path, Semmelman said.

He said it appears that “U.S. law enforcement authorities are in a position to connect with the Emirate enforcement authorities to share the results of the investigation and put together an application for extradition,” which means work toward extradition is “starting from third base.”

A U.S. attorney’s office spokesperson declined to comment.

Concerning speculation Ahmed might be positioning himself for clemency, Mark Osler, a University of St. Thomas’ School of Law professor, said “many” of the people who have gotten clemency during President Trump’s second term are people who “have played a role in supporting him in the past.”

Historically, it’s unusual for people to seek a pardon before being convicted, but “there are a lot of norms that are being destroyed right now in the world of clemency,” Osler said.

He noted that Philip Esformes, a former Chicago nursing home operator who was at the heart of a billion-dollar medical fraud case, had his sentence commuted during Trump’s first term.

Regardless of what comes next, Ford said Loretto would have been better off had Ahmed never worked there, calling the scandal “devastating.”

“Loretto today is struggling as a safety-net” hospital, Ford said. Ahmed working there “weakened the West Side and Loretto Hospital for a very long time.”