Married couple in New York arrested for stealing $3M from Medicaid
A couple in New Windsor, New York, are accused of stealing nearly $3 million from the state’s Medicaid program over a four-year period—which authorities called the “largest Medicaid fraud scheme” ever prosecuted in Orange County.
Rohail Raja, 45, and his wife, Sharma Alam, were arrested on Thursday, according to a report from News 6, the local CBS affiliate. The pair are charged with submitting false claims for transportation services between February 2020 and August 2024.
Officially, Raja and Alam were indicted for grand larceny in the first degree, which carries a minimum sentence of one year in prison, with the possibility of 25 years.
Prosecutors said they ran two medical transportation businesses, approved to operate in the state. However, the companies would allegedly submit claims for services they never delivered, or inflate bills for those they had—such as combining two patient rides into one, while billing for two instances.
According to News 6, an audit by the comptroller found that the Department of Health had reimbursed the defendants for over $2 million in trips that didn't occur. The remainder of the fraud is related to inaccurate, duplicate billing that resulted in Medicaid paying out over $895,000.
The couple remains behind bars, scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 5. They have yet to enter a plea and remain innocent until proven guilty.
The arrests stem from a joint investigation by multiple agencies, including the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, the county sheriff’s department, the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, and others.
For more, read reporting from News 6 at the link below.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.