The owner of a Schenectady County medical transportation company was charged with stealing more than $1.8 million from the state’s Medicaid program over a nearly four-year period, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney and Schenectady County Sheriff Dominic Dagostino announced today. The company’s office manager was also charged with money laundering in connection with the scheme.
Defendant, Mohammad Chaudhry, 43, is accused of inflating Medicaid bills from January 2020 through September 2024 by submitting claims for rides which never occurred, overbilling for group rides, and lying about the destinations of the trips to inflate their payments. Defendant Noah Shook, 45, is accused of paying kickbacks to Medicaid recipients as part of the scam.
“Mohammad Chaudhry and Noah Shook allegedly defrauded the Medicaid program, enriching themselves with nearly two million dollars meant to provide health services to New Yorkers,” DiNapoli said. “My office will continue to partner with law enforcement to root out waste, fraud and abuse, and protect the state’s Medicaid program. I thank District Attorney Carney and Sheriff Dagostino and his Criminal Investigations Unit for their partnership in the investigation. I would also like to thank Juliet T. Hodkins, acting head of the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, for her office’s assistance.”
“Muhammad Chaudhry is accused of stealing from a program meant to support vulnerable people in need,” Carney said. “By billing Medicaid for transportation services that were never provided and paying patients to take part in his fraudulent scheme, he lined his own pockets at the expense of our community. My office will continue to protect taxpayer funds and hold accountable anyone who steals from these programs for personal profit.”
Chaudhry is the owner of Angel Medical Transportation and Shook worked as the office manager. The company was enrolled in the Medicaid program. Under Medicaid regulations, patients may use transportation services for legitimate appointments which are then billed to the Medicaid program by the provider. Group rides are not allowed without prior authorization, and approved providers can only bill for mileage once for the group.
The investigation revealed that Chaudhry allegedly fraudulently billed the Medicaid program by claiming payment for purported individual rides which were actually unauthorized group rides, and fraudulently boosting the amount the company was paid. The company also allegedly billed the Medicaid program for rides that never actually occurred and falsified the destination traveled to in order to boost payments to the company.
Investigators also found patients who were seeking drug treatment were allegedly paid kickbacks by the Chaudhry and Shook to use their services to facilitate the crime. In some instances, the cash kickbacks were used by the recipients to purchase illicit drugs undercutting the objective of the treatment.
The investigation further revealed that Chaudhry used the stolen funds to wire over $400,000 overseas to build what a witness described as a “palace.”
Chaudry appeared before Judge Matthew J. Sypniewski in Schenectady County Court. He was charged with grand larceny, health care fraud and money laundering. Shook also appeared before Judge Sypniewski. He was charged with money laundering. Both are due back in court on Nov. 12.
The charges filed in this case are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Since taking office in 2007, DiNapoli has committed to fighting public corruption and encourages the public to help fight fraud and abuse. New Yorkers can report allegations of fraud involving taxpayer money by calling the toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1-888-672-4555, by filing a complaint online at https://www.osc.state.ny.us/investigations, or by mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 8th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.