SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -The owner of Angel Medical Transportation has been charged with stealing more than $1.8 million dollars from Medicaid. Mohammad Chaudhry is facing grand larceny, healthcare fraud and money laundering charges.
Back in July, NEWS10 reported that 25 New York transportation companies across the state were accused of Medicaid fraud by the Office of the Attorney General. Angel Medical Transportation was one of them. A $1.1 million settlement was reached in that case but Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney claims it didn’t stop there.
“So we picked it up and unfortunately he was still in business, still doing the same stuff,” said Carney. He and State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli allege that Chaudhry submitted ride claims that never happened, overbilled for group rides and lied about destinations to inflate payments.
Angel Medical Transportation’s office manager, Noah Shook, was also charged with money laundering. He allegedly paid kickbacks to Medicaid recipients. “Taking advantage of at-risk patients seeking drug treatment which unfortunately was often used by these patients to buy more drugs. I mean, there’s a human cost here as well as the financial cost,” described DiNapoli.
Witnesses told investigators that Chaudhry used the stolen money to build what seemed to be a palace overseas. He and Shook will be back in court on November 12. A different Schenectady business owner was sentenced to three to nine years in prison for Medicaid and unemployment fraud in July.
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