Two New York residents were recently indicted in the Eastern District of New York federal court in Central Islip for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, among other charges. The defendants allegedly paid kickbacks and submitted fraudulent claims to government payors, including Medicaid, for transportation services that were either not provided or for which the mileage was inflated. The amounts alleged to have been illegally received exceeded $35 million.
An ambulette company owned by the defendants, Saad Aziz of Shirley and Zabed Chowdhury of Ronkonkoma, provided transportation for Medicaid beneficiaries to medical appointments. The defendants offered payments to incentivize beneficiaries to utilize their transportation services. It is unclear whether the beneficiaries were complicit in the fraud.
This type of fraud is just another example of bad actors taking advantage of the U.S. healthcare system, where tens of millions of claims are paid with little or no scrutiny. Once the money has been paid out under these fraudulent schemes, the government has to detect the fraud and take the necessary action to prosecute the crimes and recover the amounts that have been unlawfully obtained.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison plus restitution and forfeiture of at least $35 million, including real property and 15 bank accounts.
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