New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Thursday, Rohail Raja, age 45, of New Windsor, pled guilty in Orange County Court to Grand Larceny in the First Degree, and his wife, Shama Alam, age 45, also of New Windsor, plead guilty to the felony charge of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree.
Both pleas were in connection with a scheme wherein two Medicaid transportation companies, Unique Class Limo, Inc. and SNR Limo, Inc., which are owned by Raja and Alam respectively, stole from the New York State Department of Health by fraudulently billing for Medicaid transports that either did not occur at all, or did not occur in the manner that demands for payment indicated.
At the time that they pleaded guilty, Raja and Alam each admitted that $3,434,730.00 was stolen from New York State’s Medicaid program pursuant to this fraudulent billing scheme.
Pursuant to the plea agreements placed on the record at the time the defendant’s plead guilty, both Raja and Alam will be ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,434,730.00. If Raja and Alam pay $1,000,000.00 toward that restitution prior to being sentenced, the District Attorney’s Office will recommend that Raja be sentenced to four to twelve (4-12) years in state prison.
A joint investigation was conducted by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, the Office of the New York State Comptroller, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the Orange County White Collar Crimes Taskforce. They were assisted in the investigation by the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General and the Hudson Valley Crime Analysis Center. Based upon information developed during the investigation, the District Attorney’s Office applied for a search warrant which was executed at the defendants’ Town of New Windsor residence by investigators of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and Orange County Sheriff’s Office, who were accompanied by investigators from the Office of the State Comptroller.
Raja is the owner of Unique Class, Limo, Inc. and also acted as a high managerial manager of SNR Limo, Inc., which is owned by Alam. Both corporations were authorized to act as Medicaid transportation providers. The two companies were paid by the New York State Department of Health to provide transportation to Medicaid recipients to go to and from approved Medicaid medical service providers.
During the investigation, claims for payments submitted by the defendants’ companies were compared to records from the Medicaid medical service providers named in the claims. A forensic auditor of the Office of the New York State Comptroller discovered that the New York State Department of Health had paid the defendants for ostensibly transporting Medicaid recipients to Medicaid health care providers on dates and time when the provider records show that no such visits occurred.
In addition, a review of the claims submitted by those companies during that same time period disclosed that the defendants’ companies were fraudulently submitting claims to the New York State Department of Health which falsely indicated that the companies had transported Medicaid recipients separately to medical appointments, when in reality they had transported multiple Medicaid recipients in one trip. It is alleged that the defendants fraudulently billed the Department of Health by claiming that the transport for each Medicaid recipient was a separate trip. As a result of all the false claims, between April 15, 2020 and September 30, 2024, the defendants’ companies received more than $3,434,730.00 than they were entitled to.
At the time that Raja and Alam pleaded guilty, Unique Class Limo, Inc., appeared through an attorney and pled guilty to Grand Larceny in the First Degree. Unique Class Limo, Inc., through its attorney, admitted that it had stolen $2,666,634.00 through false Medicaid billings occurring at the direction of Raja, as owner of that company. SNR Limo, Inc., plead guilty to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, and through its attorney, admitted that it had stolen $768,096.00 through false Medicaid billings occurring under the direction of Raja, as a high managerial agent of that company. Both companies will be ordered to pay restitution in the amounts that they admitted having stolen and will be fined.
Raja and Alam will be ordered to pay the combined sums of the larcenies committed under the auspices of each of the companies for a total of $3,434,730.00. Alam, who admitted agreeing to the scheme, also who admitted filing a false attestation to further the conspiracy to steal the money, will be sentenced to a combination of jail time and probation, provided that $1,000,000.00 is paid toward the restitution prior to the defendants being sentenced. If $1,000,000.00 toward restitution is not paid prior to sentencing, Raja faces up to eight and one-third to twenty-five (8 1/3 – 25) years in prison and Alam faces one and one-third to four (1 1/3 – 4) years in state prison.
The defendants are next scheduled to appear in Orange County Court on September 9, 2026.
State Comptroller DiNapoli said, "Raja Rohail and Shama Alam conspired to scam the Medicaid Program out of nearly $3 million. They have now been held accountable for their crimes, are convicted felons, and will pay full restitution of the money they stole. My office will continue to work with law enforcement partners throughout the state and protect New York's vital Medicaid program from fraud. I thank District Attorney Hoovler for his continued partnership in fighting public fraud.”
District Attorney Hoovler said, “This is the largest Medicaid fraud scheme ever prosecuted by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. I am 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. The work of the investigators and forensic auditors of the Office of State Comptroller was crucial to this investigation. I also thank Sheriff Arteta for continuing to partner with my office, and the other members of the White Collar Crimes Taskforce for their dedication to investigate complex financial crimes.”
Orange County Sheriff Paul Arteta said, “As Sheriff, my responsibility is to protect both the people of Orange County and the public dollars they rely on. Stealing from Medicaid is stealing from our most vulnerable residents, and this scheme undermined trust in a program meant to help those who truly need it. Our investigators, working alongside our partners in the District Attorney’s Office and the Comptroller’s Office, methodically exposed the truth and ensured those responsible were held to account. We will continue to defend the integrity of our community’s resources and make sure taxpayer money goes where it is intended.”
The case is being prosecuted by Chief Assistant District Attorney Christopher P. Borek.
A criminal charge is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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 [email protected], or by mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 8th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.