Recruiters were allegedly paid fees for signing up Medicaid recipients at the day cares and paid kickbacks and bribes to the Medicaid recipients
NEW YORK — An indictment unsealed Oct. 9 charges eight defendants for their alleged roles in a scheme to defraud Medicaid of approximately $68 million through the operation of two Brooklyn-based social adult day cares and a home health care financial intermediary that were accused of paying kickbacks and bribes for services that were not provided.
The defendants were arrested on the morning of Oct. 9 pursuant to an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York’s El Dorado Task Force and its law enforcement partners.
HSI New York Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker, U.S. Department of Justice Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz, and NYPD Commissioner Thomas G. Donlon announced the arrests and charges.
“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 Walker. “Today’s announcement underscores the HSI New York El Dorado Task Force’s unrelenting focus on dismantling and disrupting financial fraud schemes that exploit the American public and hurt our economy.”
According to the investigation and court documents, beginning in approximately October 2017, the defendants Zakia Khan, 53, of Brooklyn, and Ahsan Ijaz, 27, also of Brooklyn, owned two Brooklyn-based social adult day cares, Happy Family Social Adult Day Care, Inc. and Family Social Adult Day Care, Inc. and a financial intermediary, Responsible Care Staffing, Inc., for the New York Medicaid Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, which permits family members of Medicaid recipients to receive payment for assisting Medicaid recipients with activities of daily living.
In exchange for kickbacks and bribes, marketers Elaine Antao, 45, Omneah Hamdi, 61, and Manal Wasef, 44, all of Brooklyn, referred Medicaid recipients to Happy Family, Family Social and Responsible Care. The marketers, in turn, allegedly paid kickbacks and bribes to Medicaid recipients for social adult day care and Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program services that the businesses billed to Medicaid but were not provided or were induced by kickbacks and bribes. Ansir Abassi, age 38, and 53-year-old Amran Hashmi, both of Brooklyn, managed Happy Family, Family Social and the marketers. To carry out the kickback scheme, 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, a 30-year-old employee of Happy Family who was previously charged by complaint on July 1, was also indicted for conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
Most of the New York Medicaid recipients enrolled at Happy Family and Family Social were paid illegal cash kickbacks and bribes and did not actually visit Happy Family or Family Social, nor did they receive Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program services arranged through Responsible Care on the purported dates of service as claimed to New York Medicaid and the Managed Long Term Care plans. In some instances, the Medicaid recipients were outside the United States on the purported dates of service.
Khan is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, 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. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering, 10 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud and paying health care kickbacks, and five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks.
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. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering, 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks.
Hashmi is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks, and paying health care kickbacks. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud and paying health care kickbacks, and five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive 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. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and paying health care kickbacks, and five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive 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. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks.
“As alleged in the indictment, these defendants orchestrated a yearslong scheme to defraud Medicaid of tens of millions of dollars for social adult day care and home care services for seniors that they did not provide,” said Argentieri. “The defendants allegedly paid cash bribes and kickbacks to recruiters and Medicaid recipients as part of a scheme to enrich themselves at the expense of vital programs for senior citizens. Today’s charges make clear that the Criminal Division will not tolerate schemes that brazenly steal from federal health care programs.”
“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 Peace. “My office is committed to investigating and prosecuting those who plunder taxpayer-funded, federal health care programs dollars while purporting to offer health care services.”
“HHS-OIG is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations that bribes and kickbacks are paid with Medicaid monies,” said Gruchacz. “Individuals and entities that participate in the federal health care system are required to obey the laws meant to preserve the integrity of program funds and the provision of appropriate, quality services to patients.”
“The crimes outlined in this indictment take advantage of a network that offers essential health care and other services to those in need,” said Donlon. “Let it be clear: Anyone who attempts to profit by defrauding the system will face consequences, as these schemes drain already limited resources and deprive beneficiaries of crucial funds. I commend our NYPD investigators and federal law enforcement partners for their successful and continued collaboration.”
HSI New York leads and directs all operational and administrative activities of the El Dorado Task Force. The El Dorado Task Force is the premier money laundering task force in the nation and comprises more than 200 law enforcement personnel representing approximately 35 federal, state and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies. It encompasses a standalone Cyber Division as part of an effort to stay abreast of emerging criminal threats and in keeping with current and future investigative priorities. The El Dorado Task Force’s mission is to disrupt, dismantle or render ineffective organizations involved in the laundering of proceeds of narcotics trafficking and other financial crimes. Since its inception in 1992, the task force has been responsible for the seizure of approximately $600 million and more than 2,100 arrests.