An indictment was unsealed in Brooklyn, New York on Wednesday, charging eight defendants with allegedly plotting to defraud Medicaid of roughly $68 million. This was completed by way of the operation of two social organizations for grownup youngster care and a monetary middleman for dwelling care, which paid kickbacks and kickbacks for companies not offered.

Based on court docket paperwork, Zakia Khan and Ahsan Ijaz owned two Brooklyn-based social grownup childcare organizations, Completely happy Household Social Grownup Day Care Middle Inc. and Household Social Grownup Day Care Middle Inc., and a monetary middleman known as Accountable Care Staffing Inc.

These organizations had been concerned in New York's Medicaid Shopper Directed Private Help Providers Program (CDPAP), which permits relations of Medicaid recipients to obtain compensation for serving to the recipients with each day actions.

Starting in October 2017, entrepreneurs Elaine Antao, Omneah Hamdi, and Manal Wasef allegedly directed Medicaid recipients to Completely happy Household, Household Social, or Accountable Care in change for kickbacks and kickbacks. In return, the entrepreneurs allegedly paid kickbacks and bribes to Medicaid recipients for grownup social day care and CDPAP companies that the organizations billed to Medicaid – companies they didn’t present or companies that had been affected by these kickbacks and kickbacks.

Ansir Abassi, Ansir Zaib and Amran Hashmi would handle Completely happy Household and Household Social together with the entrepreneurs. To hold out the kickback scheme, Khan, Antao, Ijaz, Abassi and Hamdi allegedly used enterprise entities to launder the proceeds of the fraud and generate money to pay kickbacks and kickbacks. Seema Memon, a Completely happy Household worker who was beforehand charged on July 1, was additionally charged.

“As alleged within the indictment, these defendants orchestrated a years-long scheme to defraud Medicaid of tens of tens of millions of {dollars} for grownup social day and residential care companies that they didn’t present,” stated Deputy Assistant Legal professional Common Nicole M. Argentieri. head of the Justice Division's legal division, in a press release. “The suspects allegedly paid bribes and kickbacks to recruiters and Medicaid recipients as a part of a scheme to complement themselves on the expense of significant packages for seniors. The indictment makes clear that the Prison Division won’t tolerate packages that blatantly steal from federal well being care packages.”

Khan has been charged with a number of crimes, together with conspiracy to commit well being care fraud, three counts of well being care fraud, conspiracy to defraud america and to pay and obtain well being care kickbacks, paying well being care kickbacks, conspiracy to commit cash laundering of cash laundering and cash laundering. If convicted, she faces a most sentence of 20 years in jail for every rely of conspiracy to commit cash laundering and cash laundering, and 10 years in jail for every rely of conspiracy to commit well being care fraud, well being care fraud and fee of healthcare fraud. well being care kickbacks and 5 years in jail for conspiracy to defraud america and to pay and obtain well being care kickbacks.

Abassi, Antao, Hamdi and Ijaz are charged with conspiracy to commit well being care fraud, conspiracy to defraud america and to pay and obtain well being care kickbacks, conspiracy to commit cash laundering and cash laundering. If discovered responsible, they might be sentenced to as much as 20 years for every rely of conspiracy to commit cash laundering and cash laundering, 10 years for conspiracy to commit well being care fraud, and 5 years for conspiracy to defraud america to cheat and pay. and receiving well being care kickbacks.

Hashmi is charged with conspiracy to commit well being care fraud, three counts of well being care fraud, conspiracy to defraud america and paying and receiving well being care kickbacks. If convicted, he might be sentenced to as much as 10 years on every rely of conspiracy to commit well being care fraud, well being care fraud, and fee of well being care kickbacks, and as much as 5 years for conspiracy to defraud and defraud america. and receiving well being care kickbacks.

Memon is charged with conspiracy to commit well being care fraud, conspiracy to defraud america and paying and receiving well being care kickbacks. If convicted, she faces a most sentence of 10 years for every rely of conspiracy to commit well being care fraud and to pay well being care kickbacks, and 5 years for conspiracy to defraud america and to pay and obtain well being care kickbacks .

Wasef is charged with conspiracy to commit well being care fraud, conspiracy to defraud america, and conspiracy to pay and obtain well being care kickbacks. If convicted, she faces a most sentence of 10 years for conspiracy to commit well being care fraud and 5 years for conspiracy to defraud america and to pay and obtain well being care kickbacks.

Since March 2007, the Well being Care Fraud Strike Program, consisting of 9 strike models working in 27 federal districts, has prosecuted greater than 5,400 defendants who overbilled federal well being care packages and personal insurers by greater than $27 billion.

“The crimes outlined on this indictment took benefit of a community that gives important well being care and different companies to these in want,” Interim Commissioner Thomas G. Donlon of the New York Metropolis Police Division (NYPD) stated in a press release. “Allow us to be clear: anybody who makes an attempt to revenue by dishonest the system will face the implications, as these schemes deplete already restricted sources and deprive beneficiaries of essential funds. I commend our NYPD investigators and federal regulation enforcement companions for his or her continued cooperation.”