On December 11, 2025, St. Louis psychiatrist Shazia Malik pleaded guilty in federal court to making false statements related to health care billing after admitting she submitted claims for services that were not eligible for reimbursement while she was outside the United States.
Malik entered a guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to two counts of Making False Statements in Connection with Health Care Matters. According to a plea agreement filed in the case, Malik admitted knowingly submitting or causing false claims to be submitted to Medicare, Medicaid and private health insurers.
Prosecutors said Malik, who practiced with organizations including Psych Care Consultants LLC and Serenity Health LLC, traveled to Pakistan on Dec. 25, 2019, and remained there until Feb. 24, 2020. During that time, she caused claims to be submitted that represented she had performed reimbursable psychiatric services even though she was outside the United States.
Federal health programs and many private insurers do not reimburse claims for services performed outside the country. Malik admitted the claims falsely indicated that she had provided services that complied with those reimbursement rules.
One example cited in the plea agreement involved a claim submitted to Medicare on Dec. 8, 2020, stating that Malik conducted an office visit and psychotherapy session with a patient on Jan. 27, 2020. In reality, she was in Pakistan that day and the services were therefore not reimbursable.
Authorities said the fraudulent claims resulted in a total loss of $3,110.85 to Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers, including United Healthcare, Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna and Humana.
Under the plea agreement, prosecutors and the defense jointly recommended a sentence of one year of probation. Malik also agreed to surrender her Drug Enforcement Administration registration and to pay restitution totaling $3,110.85. Each count carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, though the parties’ recommended sentence is significantly lower.
Separately, The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri and Malik reached a $360,000 civil settlement to resolve allegations that she submitted false claims to Medicare and Missouri Medicaid between Jan. 1, 2019, and May 31, 2024.
According to federal officials, the settlement resolved claims that Malik billed federal health programs for psychotherapy sessions she claimed to have personally conducted, including instances when she was out of town or when the services were provided by other practitioners.
The settlement requires Malik to pay $155,000 in restitution to Medicare and $25,000 to Missouri Medicaid, amounts that were doubled under the False Claims Act to reach the $360,000 total. The civil agreement does not include an admission of liability.
Sources: “Psychiatrist Reaches Civil Settlement of $360,000 to Resolve Allegations of False Claims to Federal Health Care Programs,” U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri, March 9, 2026; Guilty Plea Agreement, United States of America v. Shazia Malik, M.D., Case no. 4:25-wi-00025 ZMB, US District Court – Eastern District of Missouri, December 11, 2025; and “Missouri psychiatrist pays $360K in Medicare fraud settlement,” KTTN News, March 10, 2026.