Convicted Health Care Fraud defendant fails to report to prison; warrant out for his arrest

Seattle – The former co-owner of a defunct medical testing company failed to report to prison as directed last week, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. Richard Reid, 53, was convicted in March 2022, of five federal felonies connected to his scheme to profit from illegal kickbacks in the medical testing industry. In January 2023 he was sentenced to two years in prison.

Reid has repeatedly petitioned the judge to delay his prison reporting date, claiming to have COVID-19 and then long COVID. Judge John C. Coughenour refused to delay the date past the end of April. 

Law enforcement has been working to locate Reid so that he can begin serving his sentence. Reid had been living in Astoria, Oregon but could not be located at his address. Law enforcement has learned Reid may be carrying a firearm and asks that the public contact the Seattle office of the FBI, at 206-622-0460, if they have information on his whereabouts.

The activities of Bellevue-based Northwest Physicians Laboratory (NWPL) have been the subject of extensive civil and criminal litigation. Richard Reid was one of the owners and the Vice President of Sales for NWPL. Reid helped NWPL obtain more than $3.7 million in kickback payments by steering urine drug test specimens to two labs that could bill the government for testing.

The case was investigated by the FBI, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Dion