Eight individuals in the Eastern District of New York have been charged with participating in a $68m Medicaid fraud scheme targeting adult day care and home healthcare services.
The indictment was unsealed today in Brooklyn, New York, and focused primarily on Akia Khan, who owned two social adult daycares, Happy Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc. (Happy Family) and Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc. (Family Social), and a financial intermediary, Responsible Care Staffing Inc. (Responsible Care), for the New York Medicaid Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Services Program (CDPAP).
“Social adult day care and home health services are meant to help seniors, but as alleged, the defendants allegedly turned their businesses into a brazen cash grab of millions of dollars from the Medicaid program,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York.
$68m Medicaid fraud sees key players charged New York.
According to the Justice Department, those in need of medical service allow family members of Medicaid recipients to “receive payment for assisting Medicaid recipients with activities of daily living.” The court documents allege that in 2017, Brooklyn residents Elaine Antao, Omneah Hamdi, and Manal Wasef referred Medicaid recipients to Happy Family, Family Social, and/or Responsible Care.
As part of an elaborate kickback scheme, the three enticed Medicaid treatment recipients with financial incentives to attend Happy Family, Family Social, and Responsible Care. They then illegally billed the Medicaid program for these services, and at times, these service providers did not even facilitate medical care.
Ansir Abassi and Ansir Zaib Amran Hashmi, allegedly orchestrated the actions of Antao, Hamdi, and Wasef and managed the care facilities at Happy Family and Family Social.
“Khan, Antao, Ijaz, Abassi, and Hamdi allegedly used business entities to launder the fraud proceeds and generate the cash used to pay kickbacks and bribes. Seema Memon, 30, of Brooklyn, an employee of Happy Family who was previously charged by complaint on July 1” was also indicted, according to the Justice Department report.
- Khan – charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, three counts of health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks, paying health care kickbacks, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.
- Abassi, Antao, Hamdi, and Ijaz are charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.
- Hashmi is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, three counts of health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks, and paying health care kickbacks.
- Memon is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks, and paying health care kickbacks.
- Wasef is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks.
“As alleged, the defendants saw nothing beyond the dollar signs associated with their crimes, and in turn defrauded the U.S. government of $68 million in welfare funds meant for one of our country’s most vulnerable populations,” said Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York.
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