EXPLAINER
US businessman has been arrested in Turkiye after a year on the run from authorities.
A man accused of looting billions from the United States’ healthcare system has been returned to the US to face justice, having been caught in Turkiye following more than a year on the run, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on Monday.
US businessman Ibrahim Khaldoon Hilmi is accused of orchestrating a $3.7bn Medicare fraud scheme, following what FBI director Kash Patel has called one of the biggest healthcare fraud investigations in US history. Medicare is a US health insurance programme for people aged 65 and over, and for younger people with disabilities.
Here’s what we know.
Hilmi is an American businessman who is based in Delray Beach, Florida.
He ran companies which appeared, on paper, to be legitimate healthcare suppliers.
One of these companies was Sunshine Senior Solutions, according to the Florida Department of State, which billed Medicare for medical equipment for elderly patients.
In reality, prosecutors say, it was a front designed to drain taxpayer money.
Hilmi is accused of carrying out fraud to steal $3.7bn of federal money.
His network made purchases through several legitimate US companies, including Sunshine Senior Solutions, and used them as fronts to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for durable medical equipment, including knee braces, wrist supports, wound cushions, catheters and other items. However, many of the patients listed on the orders either never requested the supplies, never received them – or didn’t exist at all.
For years, the scale of the scheme masked its exposure. By running claims through dozens of legitimate-looking companies, Hilmi’s network avoided displaying many of the red flags that typically trigger Medicare audits. The use of real business names, real medical equipment categories, and real-sounding patient records gave the billing a veneer of legitimacy.
When federal investigators finally began closing in, Hilmi had one more card to play: He fled.
In May 2025, he left the US before authorities could arrest him, according to the FBI, disappearing abroad and remaining beyond the reach of US law enforcement.
Hilmi evaded capture for just over a year. In the end, Turkish authorities tracked him down and arrested him in Turkiye, after which the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group carried out a Foreign Transfer of Custody (FTOC) operation – a formal process for transferring a suspect from a foreign country back to US jurisdiction, according to the FBI.
He arrived back in the US on board a private plane and was photographed in light blue detention clothing, with his hands shackled while flanked by FBI agents.
Patel announced the capture on his official X account, crediting FBI Miami, the Department of Justice, Turkish authorities and US Ambassador to Turkiye Tom Barrack, whose diplomatic work, Patel said, was essential to pulling off the capture of Hilmi.
His arrest came less than a week after the FBI also returned Herbert Kimble, another fugitive accused of a $1.3bn Medicare fraud scheme. Together, the two cases represent roughly $5bn in alleged theft from American taxpayers.
Hilmi will appear in federal court to face charges of Medicare fraud. It is unclear whether the US can claw back any of the missing money.
People found guilty of Medicare fraud in the US face penalties ranging from fines and civil penalties to multiyear prison sentences.
Prosecutors are expected to release more details in the next few days.
The case forms part of Operation Gold Rush, a coordinated federal crackdown targeting transnational organised crime networks which have systematically exploited the Medicare programme. The operation has resulted in hundreds of defendants facing criminal charges across the country.
Patel said, “Any criminal actor who steals from the American taxpayer will be caught, no matter where they try to hide.”
However, more than 70 people convicted of fraud have been granted clemency during Trump’s two terms as US president, including Philip Esformes, whose $1.3bn Medicare fraud was, until now, considered the largest individual healthcare fraud case in US history. Trump commuted his sentence in 2020.
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