By V3Edge Media
Two Brooklyn women, Manal Wasef and Elaine Antao, both 46, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud after defrauding New York’s Medicaid home care program of approximately $68 million through a years-long kickback and bribery scheme.
According to the US Department of Justice announcement on Thursday, the pair worked as marketers and recruiters for three Brooklyn-based entities: Happy Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc., Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc., and Responsible Care Staffing Inc. (a home health care fiscal intermediary).
From October 2017 to July 2024, Wasef and Antao paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to Medicaid recipients to refer them for social adult day care and home health care services. They then billed Medicaid for these services despite never actually providing them.
The fraudsters used multiple business entities to launder the proceeds and generate cash for the kickbacks and bribes.
As part of their plea agreements, both women agreed to forfeit approximately $1 million.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division stated: “The defendants were large-scale recruiters who bribed patients with laundered cash and billed Medicaid over $68 million for services that were not provided. Today’s guilty pleas demonstrate the Department’s longstanding commitment to rooting out fraud in government health care programs by aggressively prosecuting those who steal from taxpayer-funded programs.”
Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel of ICE Homeland Security Investigations New York added: “These defendants placed profit over people and public well-being and stole $68 million in welfare funds meant for those who need it most. Their guilty pleas today reflect that they knew exactly what crimes they were committing, they were cheating the system and, in turn, hurting vulnerable Americans.”
Wasef and Antao are the sixth and seventh defendants to plead guilty in the case, which initially charged eight people, including owners Zakia Khan and Ahsan Ijaz, Oasmneah Hamdi, Ansir Abassi, and Amran Hashmi.
The scheme exploited the minimal oversight of hundreds of “middleman” fiscal intermediary firms that act as payroll agents between caregivers and Medicaid.
Antao is scheduled for sentencing on May 20, and Wasef on May 27. Each faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison.
V3Edge Media highlights this case as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities in government-funded health care programs and the importance of robust oversight to protect taxpayer funds and vulnerable beneficiaries.
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