Ahmed Hassan was a trusted supervisory engineer at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia. In that position, Hassan was responsible for all mechanical and large HVAC systems at VAMC, which included overseeing and implementing contracts in his area of responsibility. A responsibility he misused in a scheme he devised by creating a shell company called HT Mechanical which he had secretly set up with his accomplice, Lynn Hanrahan. Secrets, secret relationships, and secret business entities- the trifecta for a successful scheme!
Between early 2013 through October 2017, Hassan made up fake work, drafted false invoices on HT Mechanical letterhead, submitted them for payment to the VA under the VA purchase card program and lied to the VA, claiming that the work had been done under his supervision. In fact, these so-called jobs did not exist, and no work was done. After the VA made payment to HT Mechanical based on Hassan’s claims, Hanrahan would launder the money to the Hassan, either by check or by giving him envelopes of cash.
On October 5, 2024, Hassan was found guilty by a federal jury on twenty-two counts of wire fraud from the misuse of his position as a federal employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Hassan defrauded the agency of nearly $1 million over a seven-year period.
Great job by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and the FBI with this investigation.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Betrayal Unveiled: VA Engineer’s $1 Million Fraud Scheme Rocks Philadelphia!” published by MSN News on October 5, 2024.
Ahmed Hassan, a supervisory engineer at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Philadelphia, was found guilty by a federal jury on 22 counts of wire fraud on Friday. The conviction stems from a scheme in which Hassan exploited his trusted role to defraud the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of nearly $1 million over several years.
Hassan, aged 70 and residing in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, orchestrated the fraudulent activities from 2013 through October 2017. He misused his position by creating and submitting fictitious invoices from a shell company named HT Mechanical, which he had secretly established with his accomplice, Lynn Hanrahan. Hanrahan, a social worker without any relevant expertise, has already pleaded guilty in a related case and is awaiting sentencing.
