GOSHEN – A New Windsor couple pleaded guilty on Thursday to Medicaid fraud for submitting false invoices totaling $3.4 million for transportation services through their two limo companies. It is believed to be the largest Medicaid fraud case prosecuted in Orange County.
The announcement was made by New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and Orange County DA David Hoovler.
Rohail Raja, 45, pleaded guilty to felony grand larceny, and his wife, Shama Alam, pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy. Their companies, Unique Class Limo and SNR Limo, each entered guilty pleas to grand larceny.
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.
At the time that Raja and Alam pleaded guilty, Unique Class Limo, Inc., appeared through an attorney and pled guilty to grand larceny. Unique Class Limo, Inc., through its attorney, admitted that it had stolen $2,666,634.00 through false Medicaid billing at the direction of Raja, the company’s owner. SNR Limo, Inc., pleaded guilty to grand larceny and, through its attorney, admitted that it had stolen $768,096.00 through false Medicaid billings at 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 and 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 restitution prior to the defendants’ sentencing.
If $1 million in restitution is not paid prior to sentencing, Raja faces 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison, and Alam faces 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison.
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