A 57-year-old Maryland man is facing federal charges after prosecutors say he ran a $100 million scheme that billed Medicare, Medicaid and federal workers' health insurance for COVID-19 tests that were never actually processed in a clinical lab. Marc Aaron Potash was indicted on conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and seven counts of healthcare fraud in connection with his company, Tiero LLC, based in Gaithersburg.
According to the CBS News Baltimore report on the indictment, Potash and his co-conspirators allegedly shipped over-the-counter, self-administered COVID-19 test kits to insured people across the country, then submitted claims falsely stating that Tiero's medical providers had performed on-site testing at the company's purported laboratory. Those claims reportedly listed false dates of service, a fake place of service, and a phony rendering provider. Prosecutors say the alleged crimes stretched from 2022 through May of this year, per the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.
How the Alleged Scheme Worked
Tiero allegedly received more than $50 million in insurance payments even as the company caused the submission of more than $100 million in false and fraudulent healthcare claims, the same report states. To pull it off, Potash is accused of sending fraudulent emails, letters and documents to the Maryland Department of Health in 2022 to obtain a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments certification, falsely claiming the facility performed on-site testing.
The distinction mattered to investigators: prosecutors allege claims falsely stated that Tiero's medical providers performed on-site testing at the company's purported laboratory, rather than mailing self-administered kits.
Charges Extend to Financial Transactions
Beyond the healthcare fraud counts, the federal grand jury indictment announced on October 9, 2026, also charged Potash with five counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property, according to the Department of Justice. Prosecutors allege Potash used proceeds from the scheme to purchase a Range Rover and a Mercedes-Benz, along with $4 million in real estate in Beallsville, Maryland. He and others are also accused of making two security transfers totaling more than $12 million.
The investigation was coordinated jointly by the FBI Washington Field Office, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General, the Justice Department said. The case was brought as part of the federal Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the DOJ's National Fraud Enforcement Division, initiatives aimed at rooting out criminal exploitation of public benefit programs.
What Potash Faces If Convicted
If convicted, Potash faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison. Actual sentences in federal court are determined by judges.
The alleged scheme targeted Medicare, Medicaid and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
Maryland has seen its share of pandemic-era testing fraud cases before. Hoodline reported in 2024 that a federal court imposed a $26 million judgment on Maryland lab entities over fraudulent COVID-19 test billing.
