A Middletown man pleaded guilty Monday to operating an illegal money-transmitting business that defrauded Medicare of more than $1.9 million, federal officials announced Tuesday.
Habroon Habib, 30, a citizen of Pakistan and a lawful permanent U.S. resident now living in Middletown, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty in Bridgeport federal court.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Habib registered a business called Around The World Solutions LLC with the state in January 2025 and rented commercial office space at 386 Main St. in Middletown. He opened a bank account for the business the following month.
Shortly thereafter, Around The World Solutions began to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare Advantage plans, also known as Medicare Part C, in Connecticut for durable medical equipment, officials said. The durable equipment for which claims were submitted included orthotics and braces that Medicare beneficiaries did not ask for, consent to nor receive, records show.
The claims were submitted by an individual in Pakistan, officials said.
Between March 12 and May 14, 2025, private insurers operating Medicare Advantage plans deposited about $680,571 into Around The World Solutions’ bank account for what federal officials described as fraudulent orthotics claims submitted on behalf of 413 Medicare beneficiaries in 36 states.
None of the beneficiaries lived in Connecticut.
Payments for some of the claims were stopped by the Medicare Advantage programs when they discovered the fraud, officials said. The amount of fraudulent claims Around The World Solutions submitted to Medicare Advantage plans totaled about $1.9 million, authorities said.
Habib sent 14 wire transfers totaling $425,000 from the Around the World Solutions bank account to accounts in Pakistan, officials said. Neither Habib nor Around The World Solutions were licensed by the state Department of Banking to engage in the money transmission business in Connecticut.
Under state law, knowingly engaging in the money-transmission business in Connecticut without obtaining a license is a class D felony. Engaging in unlicensed money transmission without a state license also violates federal law.
Habib was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on Aug. 24, 2025, shortly after federal investigators learned he was scheduled to use a one-way ticket to fly from JFK Airport in New York to Pakistan the following day.
He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford on Sept. 8, and faces a maximum term of five years in prison. Habib was released in lieu of a $50,000 bond pending sentencing.
This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Sheldon.
