A serial entrepreneur couple who cashed in on the COVID testing boom, spending their millions on luxury cars and a $1.36M mansion, are now at the center of a federal probe.
Longtime entrepreneurs Akbar Ali Syed, 35, and his wife Aleya Siyaj, 29, have attached themselves to many trending business ventures over the years, including a donut shop, wedding photography and axe-throwing.
But their latest venture, the Center for COVID Control, a COVID testing business, is now under federal investigation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Oregon Department of Justice and multiple state health departments after numerous complaints from across the country, according to an investigation by USA Today.
It was reported that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, conducted surveys at multiple Center for COVID Control testing sites and ‘the main laboratory’ in November and December and found ‘non-compliance’ with numerous standards, affecting more than 400,000 tests.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services documented numerous ‘deficiencies’ at the company’s main lab, Doctors Clinical Lab, which has been reimbursed more than $124 million from the federal government’s COVID-19 uninsured program, according to public data obtained by USA Today.
The company, which has 300 testing locations nationwide that offer free same-day rapid test results, stated that at its peak, it collected more than 80,000 tests per day at the pop-ups, many of which are reportedly in sheds and storage units.
A serial entrepreneur couple who cashed in on the COVID testing boom, spending their millions on luxury cars and a $1.36M mansion (pictured), are now at the center of a federal probe
Akbar Ali Syed, 35, and his wife Aleya Siyaj, 29, of Rolling Meadows, Illinois are longtime entrepreneurs who have attached themselves to many trending business ventures over the years
Throughout the pandemic, there has been a struggle in the United States to find quick and accurate testing.
So when the couple saw a market for a new venture, Siyaj, who is referred to by the company as the ‘CEO and founder,’ registered the business, the Center for COVID Control, in December 2020.
But by the end of 2021, the company began to experience trouble when the Omicron variant caused a surge in cases, according to USA Today. As testing increased, the Center for COVID Control became overwhelmed, revealing cracks in the system.
‘CCC was founded to meet a critical market need to establish testing centers where COVID tests could be provided to patients rapidly and safely to minimize delay, and let people get on with their daily activities,’ Siyaj said in a statement posted on the company’s website on Thursday.
People took to social media, Google and the Better Business Bureau to complain about their experience with the company’s testing sites, many of which are pop-ups in sheds and storage units.
There were complaints that some people had received negative test results via email before even taking their tests.
Others complained of delayed results or no results at all, calling the company, which has the Better Business Bureau‘s lowest customer review rating, a ‘scam.’
The Center for Covid Control has more than 300 testing locations (pictured) nationwide that offer free same-day rapid test results
The probe into the company was only magnified by the couple’s social media posts boasting about their luxurious lifestyle with purchases of Lamorghinis and a $1.36 million mansion.
In November 2021, the couple became owners of a $1.36 million home in Saint. Charles, Illinois.
The Zillow listing features a 3.65-acre lot on a private road with a gated entry, three-car garage, circular front driveway, fountain, white pillars, iron double doors, crystal chandeliers and a curved floating staircase.
On Syed’s TikTok account, which was taken down Thursday, he shared photos and videos of luxury cars. His nephew has a YouTube channel that focuses on the family’s growing car collection.
At the end of August 2021, Syed posted a video to his TikTok account of a red Lamborghini Countach being unloaded from a flatbed truck.
‘Countach added to my collection,’ Syed wrote in the caption. He also included the tag, ‘#entrepreneur.’
‘Oil money?’ a user asked.
No, Syed responded: ‘COVID money.’
Syed posted a video to his TikTok account of a red Lamborghini Countach being unloaded from a flatbed truck and when a user asked if it was oil money, he responded no, COVID money
On Syed’s TikTok account, which was taken down Thursday, he shared photos and videos of luxury cars
The couple shared photos of their purchases, starting with a pickup truck back in August 2021
In November 2021, the couple became owners of a $1.36 million home in Saint. Charles, Illinois (pictured), complete with a curved floating staircase
The Zillow listing of the couple’s house (pictured) features a 3.65-acre lot on a private road with a gated entry, three-car garage, circular front driveway, fountain, white pillars, iron double doors, crystal chandeliers and a curved floating staircase
In the past five years, the couple has launched several business ventures.
In 2013, Syed launched a wedding photography business. His wife launched six businesses within the past five years.
Siyaj previously owned the O’s Donuts & Cafe, which launched in 2017 and closed in November 2020, according to USA Today.
She is also listed on LinkedIn as the owner of Axe Range, an axe-throwing lounge, which closed in 2020. She reportedly established Aenaz, Lom Investments and Testing Solutions.
Her LinkedIn now lists her as the founder and chief executive officer of the Center for COVID Control.
Aleya Siyaj established Axe Range, an axe-throwing lounge, in 2019, one of many business ventures the couples started
Aleya Siyaj in front of the couple’s $1.36M mansion