Indian-Origin Lab Owner Charged in $66 Million US Covid-19 Testing Fraud
Rajesh Patel, an Indian-origin co-owner of an Illinois clinical laboratory, has been charged with defrauding the US government of approximately $66 million by submitting claims for over 380,000 Covid-19 tests that were never performed. Between May 2021 and April 2022, Patel's lab fabricated negative test results and billed the federally funded HRSA Uninsured Program, receiving about $44 million in payments and personally profiting around $28 million. He faces five counts of wire fraud, each carrying up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
First-hand measurement across 2 sources
We measured how 2 outlets covered this story. No outlet gave this story a measurable political slant — there is no left–right reading to report. Overall sentiment is negative (26/100). Lens Score 61/100.
Outlets measured: firstpost, deccanherald. See how each one headlined and framed the same story in the source comparison below.
AI Analysis
Sentiment was consistent across outlets (25–28/100), indicating broadly factual reporting rather than editorialising.
Coverage timeline
deccanherald broke this story on 21 Oct, 04:16 am. Other outlets followed.
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