FBI searches headquarters of national Covid testing company
Federal agents executed a search warrant at the Chicago-area headquarters of a national pop-up testing chain called the Center for COVID Control, a spokesperson for the Health and Human Services Inspector General said Monday.
The FBI assisted in the search of the facility in Rolling Meadows, Ill., according to the spokesperson, Yvonne Gamble. An FBI spokesperson confirmed to NBC News that the agency conducted “court -authorized law enforcement activity in Rolling Meadows” on Saturday.
The Center for COVID Control has the same registered address as a laboratory called Doctors Clinical Laboratory that conducted hundreds of thousands of PCR tests using specimens collected by the pop-up testing company, according to a company spokesperson.
Both the pop-up testing company and the lab have been under investigation by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as well as multiple state attorneys general.
The company has billed the federal government more than $120 million for testing uninsured Americans, according to federal records.A spokesperson for the Center for COVID Control did not respond to a request for comment about the search, which was first reported by USA Today. Emails and phone messages left at the Doctors Clinical Laboratory were not returned.
In multiple public documents, the two companies have listed the same address at 1685 Winnetka Cir, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008, but the Center for COVID Control’s spokesperson previously told NBC News the two companies are separate entities and there is “no cross-ownership.”
A spokesperson for the Illinois attorney general confirmed their office is working with federal law enforcement.
“We are working with the FBI and other law enforcement partners and will not comment on ongoing investigations as we work to hold accountable individuals who engage in unlawful conduct,” the spokesperson said.
In light of growing complaints, the Center for COVID Control paused its business activities on Jan. 13. It was scheduled to re-open some sites around the country on Jan. 22, the day of the search.
The Center for COVID Control’s CEO 29-year-old Aleya Siyaj and her husband Ali Syed could not be immediately reached for comment.
Siyaj and Syed’s previous businesses included a donut shop and an axe throwing business.
The investigations were launched after the company drew dozens of consumer complaints ranging from late test results to concerns that no tests were being conducted at all.
Ryan Jacobson, a lawyer with the firm Smith Amundsen, which was hired by the Center for Covid Control to perform a review of their business practices, provided NBC News a statement last week regarding the ongoing investigations.
“We are working closely with authorities to provide information and shed light on the operational challenges [Center for COVID Control] experienced at the height of the Omicron surge, which no doubt contributed to consumer complaints and public scrutiny,” Jacobson said.
The pop-up testing company grew quickly in the fall of 2021 and swiftly expanded to 300 sites nationwide.
The lab and the Center for COVID Control have been under investigation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services since late November when an inspection revealed widespread violations including a failure to label specimens.
The Illinois, Colorado, Minnesota and Oregon attorneys general have all announced investigations into the company. The Massachusetts Attorney General is reviewing complaints.
