Hudson Valley Trio Indicted In Record $3.5M NY Medicaid Fraud Case: DA, NYS Comptroller

NEW WINDSOR, NY — A married Orange County couple and an Ulster County co-defendant defrauded New York's Medicaid program to the tune of millions of dollars, according to officials.

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler and NYS Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced that 45-year-old Rohail Raja, and his wife, 45-year-old Sharma Alam, both of the Town of New Windsor, were arraigned on Nov. 10 on an indictment charging them with first-degree grand larceny and fourth-degree conspiracy related to a scheme to defraud the NYS Medicaid program of millions of dollars.

SEE ALSO: Couple Arrested In Record $2.9M NY Medicaid Fraud Case: DA, NYS Comptroller

On Tuesday, their co-defendant, 33-year-old Ari Manojkumar, of Highland, was also arraigned on charges of first-degree grand larceny and fourth-degree conspiracy. He was remanded to the Orange County Jail without bail.

In addition, two corporations, Unique Class Limo, Inc., and SNR Limo, Inc., were arraigned on charges of first-degree grand larceny and second-degree grand larceny, respectively.

"Mr. Ari allegedly conspired to scam the Medicaid Program out of nearly $3 million dollars meant to promote the health of deserving New Yorkers," DiNapoli said. "My office will continue to aggressively work with law enforcement to root out fraud in the Medicaid Program and hold offenders responsible. I thank District Attorney Hoovler for his ongoing partnership to protect public funds and the Medicaid system."

According to court documents, between February 1, 2020 and August 30, 2024, Raja and Alam allegedly stole over $3.5 million in Medicaid funds from the NYS Department of Health. The thefts took place through fraudulent claims submitted by the couple's two Medicaid transportation companies, according to investigators.

Investigators say that Manojkumar, as a manager for the corporations, delivered cash to Medicaid recipients being transported, to drivers that he supervised so that the drivers could deliver cash to Medicaid recipients being transported, and aided the married couple in submitting false billing records to Medicaid.

A joint investigation was conducted by the Orange County DA's Office, the Office of the NYS Comptroller, the Orange County Sheriff's Office, and the Orange County White Collar Crimes Taskforce. They were assisted by the NYS Office of the Medicaid Inspector General and the Hudson Valley Crime Analysis Center.

Based upon the investigation's findings, the DA's Office applied for a search warrant which was executed at the couple's Town of New Windsor home by investigators from the Orange County DA's Office, the Orange County Sheriff's Office, and the Office of the State Comptroller.

"This investigation uncovered broad and blatant fraud that undermines the critical services these defendants purported to provide," Hoovler said. "I am proud that this is the largest Medicaid fraud scheme ever prosecuted by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. I remain grateful to Comptroller DiNapoli, and his staff, for partnering with the District Attorney’s Office and the Orange County White-Collar Crimes Taskforce on this important investigation. This vital work on behalf of the citizens of Orange County will continue."

The couple's two companies were paid by the NYS Department of Health to provide transportation to Medicaid recipients to travel to and from approved Medicaid medical service providers.

During the investigation, claims for payments submitted by the couple's companies were compared to records from the Medicaid medical service providers in the claims. An auditor from the Office of the NYS Comptroller found that the NYS Department of Health had paid the couple millions for supposedly transporting Medicaid recipients to Medicaid health care providers on dates and time when the provider records show that no such visits took place.

In addition, a review of the claims submitted by the couple's companies during that same time period found that the companies had been fraudulently submitting claims to the NYS Department of Health which falsely claimed that the companies had transported Medicaid recipients separately to medical appointments. In reality, they had transported multiple Medicaid recipients in one trip.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact the Orange County DA's Office.