4 health company executives accused in $1B fraud scheme

CHICAGO – Four former executives of a Chicago-based health-information company are accused in a $1 billion fraud scheme.

An indictment unsealed Monday in Chicago federal court says Outcome Health billed clients for full ad campaigns when only some ads were placed. The company allegedly falsified ad performance statements, later using them to help secure millions in loans.

Those charged with mail, wire and bank fraud include 33-year-old CEO Rishi Shah and 34-year-old president Shradha Agarwal, both of Chicago.

Shah and Agarwal co-founded Outcome Health, then ContextMedia, in 2006 when they were Northwestern University students.

Shah’s attorney says Shah “is being scapegoated for the wrongdoing of others.” Agarwal’s lawyer says she’ll “fight to protect her good name.”

Outcome Health mainly works with pharmaceutical companies whose ads appeared on tablets in doctors’ waiting rooms.