Loretto fraud – Defense attorneys in the fraud case involving an ex-Loretto Hospital executive and others say alleged misconduct by a prosecutor common to both cases was known for months—raising the possibility that the federal case now faces dismissal.
For the second high-profile federal prosecution tied to Loretto Hospital, the ground is shifting under the case.
Damage from the “Broadview Six” matter began spreading Tuesday, as defense attorneys in a separate fraud case—one involving an ex-Loretto Hospital executive and others—argued that misconduct allegations involving a prosecutor common to both prosecutions were known well before any action was taken.
In a filing. attorneys Gabrielle Sansonetti and Patrick Blegen. who represent Mahmood Sami Khan. said there was “reason to believe” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois knew about allegations involving the prosecutor “at least several months ago. ” at the same time defense in the Broadview Six case began pressing for disclosures.
Khan was once employed by onetime Loretto chief financial officer Anosh Ahmed. Khan, Ahmed, and other defendants are now in a fraud case formerly handled by Sheri Mecklenburg, identified in the filing as the lead prosecutor in the “Broadview Six” case.
The Loretto-related charges also include Mohamed Sirajudeen and Suhaib Ahmad Chaudhry.
Mecklenburg previously described the alleged scheme as a single. widespread plan to submit more than $800 million in false claims to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration for reimbursement of COVID-19 testing for uninsured individuals. She wrote that the scheme ran from June 2021 to March 2022, when, she said, the government program ran out of money.
But now Khan’s defense attorneys are asking for a permanent dismissal—pointing to the same kind of procedural fallout that has already begun consuming the Broadview case.
Their motion does not name Mecklenburg directly, but the filing makes clear she is the only prosecutor connected to both matters.
Sansonetti and Blegen said prosecutors disclosed potential misconduct in the Ahmed-and-Khan fraud case during a meeting on Friday. The specific issue described was “vouching,” which the defense said involves a prosecutor improperly putting their credibility on the line to push an indictment.
The defense attorneys also wrote that prosecutors told them they planned to seek a new indictment to cure any potential “taint.” The case is being overseen by U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman.
The tension is not confined to the Loretto docket. The “Broadview Six” prosecution has become the center of a credibility crisis for the U.S. attorney’s office.
It has been less than a week since U.S. District Judge April Perry revealed alleged misconduct she said she discovered during grand jury proceedings in the Broadview Six case.
Along with allegations of “vouching,” Perry described claims that a prosecutor had substantive contact with grand jurors outside the grand jury room and that a prosecutor excused grand jurors who disagreed with the case.
On Tuesday, a defense attorney told Perry there was reason to believe U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros also had contact with grand jurors in the Broadview Six case.
Boutros’ office responded that he had not “appeared before any grand jury on any particular case” since taking over the U.S. attorney’s office in April 2025.
The Chicago Sun-Times first reported Friday that the fallout could reach the prosecution of Ahmed. Boutros later confirmed an “ongoing” review of other grand jury presentations that might have been tainted in a similar way to the Broadview Six case.
Such a review, the reporting indicated, would likely involve cases tied to the same prosecutors from that matter.
In the Loretto fraud case, the defense is trying to force the issue from procedural questions into a courtroom remedy—arguing that if misconduct allegations were known earlier, the case should not be allowed to continue as if nothing happened.
Loretto Hospital fraud Mahmood Sami Khan Anosh Ahmed Sheri Mecklenburg Broadview Six grand jury misconduct vouching Andrew Boutros Sharon Johnson Coleman April Perry