A judge granted the feds’ request Friday to drop charges against two defendants in a massive COVID-19 testing fraud scheme handled by the same prosecutor as the tainted “Broadview Six” case.
The dismissal marked the first case to crumble under what another judge called a “credibility crisis” swirling around U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros’ office following the collapse of the Broadview prosecution last month.
On Thursday, the feds moved to drop charges against two “low level of operators” linked to former Loretto Hospital chief financial officer Anosh Ahmed. They did so to avoid a hearing that could have put Boutros on the witness stand to address fresh allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
“We have cases throughout this building that are all in turmoil,” U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman said while dismissing the charges Friday. “Pandora’s Box has been opened … I don’t know if by doing this you get to put everything back in the box”
It’s been three weeks since Boutros announced the permanent dismissal of charges against the remaining defendants in the prosecution of the “Broadview Six,” originally a felony conspiracy case filed last fall against a group of Operation Midway Blitz protesters.
The case was later pared down to a misdemeanor matter against four of those protestors. Then Boutros dropped the case entirely after U.S. District Judge April Perry discovered apparent misconduct by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg during grand jury proceedings.
Kat Abughazaleh (from left), Michael Rabbitt, Andre Martin and Brian Straw stand together May 21 after their case stemming from Operation Midway Blitz was dropped during a hearing at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. They were the last four members of the so-called “Broadview Six” to face criminal charges.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
The alleged misconduct included Mecklenburg improperly putting her credibility on the line to support criminal charges, wrongly dismissing grand jurors from the proceedings, and having conversations with grand jurors outside the grand jury room.
Transcripts of the typically secret grand jury proceedings were released earlier this week, showing Mecklenburg acknowledged having improper discussions with grand jurors.
Mecklenburg was also handling the Loretto investigation, which Coleman argued was just “as serious” as the case before Perry — though it did not prompt an appearance from Boutros himself on Friday. Coleman made her frustrations clear before permanently dismissing charges against Mahmood Sami Khan and Suhaib Ahmad Chaudhry.
“Is Mr. Boutros here?” Coleman asked. “This is serious.”
Coleman also addressed what she assumed was a “level of angst” within Boutros’ office, as other prosecutors were sent to answer for alleged misconduct on his behalf.
“It’s not a one-man show,” Coleman said. “[And] If there is a one-man show … it’s the U.S. attorney. He decides … That’s why he’s got the big job. But he’s not here.”
The fraud case involving Khan and Chaudhry “arises out of a single, widespread scheme to submit more than $800 million in false claims” to the federal government “for reimbursement of COVID-19 testing of uninsured individuals,” Mecklenburg wrote earlier this year.
The scheme lasted from June 2021 through March 2022, “when the government program ran out of money,” she added.
The false claims resulted in payouts totaling $293 million, according to the indictment.
Just days after the Broadview Six dismissal, defense attorneys for Khan and Chaudhry accused Mecklenburg of similar misconduct. “Grand juries are meant to protect the innocent — like Sami Khan,” his attorneys said Friday.
“But, in this case the system broke and he was charged. Without individuals, lawyers and judges who challenge the government, abuse of the system would go undetected,” they wrote. “Sami thanks the Broadview 6 lawyers and the judges across cases who had the courage to demand the system operate with integrity. The system broke — but ultimately, it worked.”
Prosecutors will continue their case against Ahmed, who remains in Serbia fighting extradition. His attorney also sought dismissal Friday, but Coleman denied the request because he hasn’t been arraigned.