Three years ago, this clinic leader was found guilty of a major fraud indictment. Now, the WA State Department of Health has given him another cease and desist order. This image shows the location of the leader's former practice on Spaulding in Richland.

Sami Anwar was accused of major research fraud

Anwar, who operated the now long since closed Zain Medical Center, located at 1446 Spaulding in Richland, began his fraudulent practices in 2013.  He was charged in a 47-count indictment with setting up phony research companies to stop smoking, 'curing' diabetes, and lowering cholesterol. Funding and grants for these programs were misused for personal purposes.

Federal officials said his practice involved stealing and using the credentials of associates of business partners, some of them legitimate medical practitioners, then blackmailing them to cover it up. His scheme began to unravel, due to some audits and other issues, in 2017.  By 2019, his practice was closed.

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  Department of Health issues cease and desist in March of this year

The Washington State Department of Health releases information about disciplinary action in the medical field on a regular basis. Some of the releases are within a week of the action, others are reported later. In March 2022, WA State Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah himself issued the order for the cease and desist, for Anwar to stop any and all medically-related practices.

According to the DSHS information:

"Anwar was the chief operating officer of a medical center and intervened in medical care at the center, but he has never held a credential to practice as a physician or a surgeon in Washington."

That was in reference to his Zain Medical Clinic.

The order also included a hefty fine of $1,000, which is fairly large for these kinds of disciplinary actions.

However, the state did not include any new case number or information about when or where Anwar was allegedly trying to practice, or perhaps restart, any medical work in Washington state.

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