A Lake Forest Park counselor charged with administering hundreds of flu vaccines without a license also is under investigation for welfare fraud, according to documents filed Wednesday in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Shahid Hussain Sheikh, 45, owner of the Bellevue company MedSources, was still being sought in connection with King County charges. King County prosecutors last month charged him with 10 counts, nine of them felonies, for alleged unlicensed practice of a profession.
Investigators say he administered more than 700 flu shots throughout the Northwest.
Between Oct. 8 and Dec. 3, he allegedly administered shots to employees of six Snohomish County businesses, including the offices of a dentist, lawyer and real estate agent, according to a search warrant affidavit filed by Linda Peterson, criminal investigator for the state Department of Social and Health Services.
Sheikh was supposed to have been arraigned this week, but police were still searching for him. The court has issued a $1 million arrest warrant for him.
Police are also investigating whether Sheikh, a U.S. citizen from Pakistan, ordered employees to dilute doses and distributed outdated vaccine.
The welfare fraud investigation is the latest twist to the story.
Peterson is investigating whether Sheikh and his wife, Lia Sheikh, received more than $9,000 in food stamp assistance and an unknown amount of medical assistance since September 2000 while misrepresenting their income to state officials, documents said.
According to court records, investigators seized boxes of papers, bank statements, checks and letters from the Sheikh home in the 1600 block of NE 105th Street in Lake Forest Park.
Documents said the Sheikhs listed their home address in Lake Forest Park and their mailing address at MedSources in Bellevue.
He allegedly told social workers that he worked for MedSources part time, earning $10 an hour, and was doing some training but was not being paid for it. He reported that he worked there for his brother, documents said.
"Mr. Sheikh reported that as soon as business picks up, he will get more hours, which should be by mid-October … ‘when the flu season starts,’ " documents said.
After Bellevue police raided his business in mid-December, documents found there indicated that Sheikh was running MedSources, Peterson said.
"There is probable cause to believe that the Sheikhs have bank accounts and access to finances that they did not disclose to DSHS," she said.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
