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Medicaid

Police & Fire
Owner Of Failed Nursing Home Chain From Rockland Admits Stiffing IRS Out Of $39M: Feds Owner Of Failed Nursing Home Chain From Rockland Admits Stiffing IRS Out Of $39M: Feds
Owner Of Failed Nursing Home Chain From Rockland Admits Stiffing IRS Out Of $39M: Feds 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A onetime insurance broker from Rockland County who ran a nationwide network of nearly 100 nursing homes into the ground from an office over a Bergen County pizzeria admitted that he purposely shorted the IRS nearly $39M, federal authorities said. Joseph Schwartz, 64, of Suffern, owned Skyline Management Group, which was based in the Wood-Ridge and amassed 95 nursing homes across 11 states. These once included Hudson View Care & Rehab Center in North Bergen, Brookhaven Health Care Center in East Orange and the Voorhees Care & Rehabilitation Center. Over a period of only sev…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NY Doctor Forced Invasive, Unnecessary Tests On Patients, Attorney General Claims NY Doctor Forced Invasive, Unnecessary Tests On Patients, Attorney General Claims
NY Doctor Forced Invasive, Unnecessary Tests On Patients, Attorney General Claims A New York doctor has been indicted for his alleged involvement in a kickback scheme that involved him defrauding Medicaid and giving patients unnecessary tests, officials announced. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Wednesday, Nov. 22 the indictment of Long Island resident Payam Toobian, M.D., alongside his company, America’s Imaging Center, Inc., for over 10 years of alleged Medicaid fraud. Through his corporation, Toobian, age 51, of King's Point, ran Empire’s Imaging, a diagnostic radiology center based in Queens. From January 2006 to August 2017, the AG’s Office …

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by Sophie Grieser
Police & Fire
Welfare Fraud: 3 Women From Region Charged With Theft Of Funds Welfare Fraud: 3 Women From Region Charged With Theft Of Funds
Welfare Fraud: 3 Women From Region Charged With Theft Of Funds Three women from the region have been charged with allegedly stealing government funds following an investigation by the Sullivan County Welfare Fraud Task Force. Those charged are: Lisa Keitt, age 26, of Liberty, was arrested and charged on Sunday, March 19, and charged with theft of services and offering a false instrument. It is alleged that Keitt stole services totaling $505.74 in Medicaid transportation benefits. On Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, and on eight other dates, Keitt obtained a medical transportation ride by deception to two separate medical facilities to which s…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
$8M Fraud Scheme: Hudson Valley Man Billed Millions In False Transportation Claims $8M Fraud Scheme: Hudson Valley Man Billed Millions In False Transportation Claims
$8M Fraud Scheme: Hudson Valley Man Billed Millions In False Transportation Claims A Westchester man will spend years in prison after billing more than $8 million in false transportation service claims as part of a multi-million-dollar Medicaid fraud scheme.  Yonkers resident Julio Alvarado, age 63, was sentenced to 95 months in prison on Wednesday, March 29 for leading the scheme which ended up defrauding Medicaid out of millions of dollars, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.  According to federal officials, Alvarado was responsible for billing more than $8 million in fraudulent transportation services for Medicaid…

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by Ben Crnic
News
Nursing Home Stole $22.6M In Government Funds, NY AG Says Nursing Home Stole $22.6M In Government Funds, NY AG Says
Nursing Home Stole $22.6M In Government Funds, NY AG Says Millions of dollars in public funding that should’ve gone to caring for residents of a New York nursing home were instead diverted into the pockets of its greedy owners, according to a lawsuit from Attorney General Letitia James. The suit, filed Friday, Dec. 16, alleges a years-long fraud scheme carried out by the owners of Long Island’s Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, located in Woodbury. Earlier Report: East Meadow Nursing Home's $16M Fraud Scheme Led To 'Devastating' Resident Abuse, AG Says An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
NY Nursing Home's $16M Fraud Scheme Led To 'Devastating' Resident Abuse, Neglect, AG Says NY Nursing Home's $16M Fraud Scheme Led To 'Devastating' Resident Abuse, Neglect, AG Says
NY Nursing Home's $16M Fraud Scheme Led To 'Devastating' Resident Abuse, Neglect, AG Says Sexual abuse, unexplained bruising, unanswered call bells, and humiliating missed trips to the bathroom. Those were just some of the horrors experienced by residents at a New York nursing home stemming from a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme, according to a lawsuit from Attorney General Letitia James. Related Report: East Meadow Nursing Home Employee Sexually Assaulted Resident, Boss Covered Up Crime, DA Says The suit, filed Tuesday, Dec. 13, alleges that the owners of Long Island’s Fulton Commons Care Center, located in East Meadow, exploited New York’s Medicaid program to enrich themsel…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
NY Doctor Charged For $1.3 Million Fraud Scheme NY Doctor Charged For $1.3 Million Fraud Scheme
NY Doctor Charged For $1.3 Million Fraud Scheme A New York doctor is accused of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid of over $1.3 million. Federal prosecutors allege that Dr. Perry Frankel, age 64, of Roslyn, in Nassau County, submitted false billing claims to Medicare and Medicaid for office visits that were never performed for patients who received COVID-19 tests. The tests were done at mobile sites across Long Island through Frankel’s cardiology clinic, Advanced Cardiovascular Diagnostics PLLC, located in Great Neck. Frankel was not even in New York when some of the alleged office visits occurred, prosecutors said. “As alleged, exploiti…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
Former Rockland Owner Of Nursing Homes Charged In $39M Tax Dodge Former Rockland Owner Of Nursing Homes Charged In $39M Tax Dodge
Former Rockland Owner Of Nursing Homes Charged In $39M Tax Dodge An insurance broker from Rockland County who ran a nationwide network of nearly 100 nursing homes from an office over a Bergen County pizzeria ducked nearly $39 million in payroll taxes, a federal indictment unsealed on Monday, Jan. 24 alleges. Joseph Schwartz, age 62, was arrested at his Suffern home  Thursday, Jan. 20.  A federal judge in Newark released him to home confinement hours later, with conditions, pending trial. Then came the announcement on Monday, also out of Newark. Schwartz’s Skyline Healthcare LLC amassed 95 nursing homes in 11 states nationwide in less than two…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Hudson Valley Doctor Sentenced For Pushing Fentanyl For Drug Company Hudson Valley Doctor Sentenced For Pushing Fentanyl For Drug Company
Hudson Valley Doctor Sentenced For Pushing Fentanyl For Drug Company A Westchester doctor who practiced in Manhattan has been sentenced to five years in prison for taking bribes from drug companies for prescribing fentanyl. Jeffrey Goldstein, of New Rochelle, was sentenced on Wednesday, June 16, for violating the anti-kickback statute after receiving more than $200,000 from Subsys’s manufacturer, Insys Therapeutics, in exchange for prescribing Subsys, a potent fentanyl-based spray, said. Audrey Strauss, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Goldstein, age 51, previously pleaded guilty, in August 2019, the United States Attorney's Office sa…

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by Kathy Reakes
Politics
COVID-19: Nursing Home Scandal Could Bring Criminal Charges For Cuomo, Prosecutor Says COVID-19: Nursing Home Scandal Could Bring Criminal Charges For Cuomo, Prosecutor Says
Covid-19: Nursing Home Scandal Could Bring Criminal Charges For Cuomo, Prosecutor Says New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s COVID-19 nursing home scandal could lead to federal charges, according to a longtime prosecutor. John Daukas, who was acting attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division under President Donald Trump, said that Cuomo could face criminal charges after underreporting nursing home deaths and then attempting to cover it up. Earlier story - COVID-19: Nursing Home Scandal Fallout Increases As More Dems Turn On Cuomo, Feds Launch Probe In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Daukas said that Cuomo’s administration misled the public, and the …

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Cuomo Calls For Nursing Home Reform Amid Federal Probe, Increasing Pressure COVID-19: Cuomo Calls For Nursing Home Reform Amid Federal Probe, Increasing Pressure
Covid-19: Cuomo Calls For Nursing Home Reform Amid Federal Probe, Increasing Pressure With pressure coming from both sides of the aisle into investigating New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s handling of nursing homes during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, he has vowed sweeping reform as part of the 30-day amendments. Cuomo announced reforms to improve the health, quality of life, and safety of nursing home residents to ensure that “facilities prioritize patient care over profits.” “You can’t say to a nursing home that ‘either you can buy new beds, or you can make more money,' " Cuomo said during a COVID-19 briefing on Friday, Feb. 19. “It’s not a matter of hiring more staff or …

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by Zak Failla
Politics
Cuomo Proposes Raising Taxes On Wealthiest NYers Cuomo Proposes Raising Taxes On Wealthiest NYers
Cuomo Proposes Raising Taxes On Wealthiest NYers With New York facing a record-setting $15 billion deficit amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget proposal includes a potential tax hike for the state’s wealthiest residents. In his budget proposal this week, Cuomo proposed raising taxes on the rich to a combined level of 14.7 percent, which would be the highest state and local tax rate in the nation as New York looks to dig out of the financial hole created during the pandemic. The top tax rate would rise to 10.86 percent, up from 8.82 percent, making it the highest income tax in the nation. It would only impact those making…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Westchester, Suffolk Can Resume Elective Surgeries; Horse Racing Tracks To Reopen COVID-19: Westchester, Suffolk Can Resume Elective Surgeries; Horse Racing Tracks To Reopen
Covid-19: Westchester, Suffolk Can Resume Elective Surgeries; Horse Racing Tracks To Reopen Horse racing tracks across New York State and Watkins Glen International Racetrack will be allowed to open without fans amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Those openings will be effective as of Monday, June 1. The state will issue guidance on how they can open safely reopen in the coming week. Gov. Andrew Cuomo also announced at his news briefing on Saturday, May 16 that two more counties -- Westchester and Suffolk -- are now eligible to resume elective surgeries and ambulatory care.  Cuomo previously announced that the state will allow elective outpatient treatments…

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by Daily Voice
Politics
Trump Administration Cancels $8 Billion Healthcare Grant For New York, Cuomo Says Trump Administration Cancels $8 Billion Healthcare Grant For New York, Cuomo Says
Trump Administration Cancels $8 Billion Healthcare Grant For New York, Cuomo Says President Donald Trump’s administration is canceling an $8 billion healthcare grant that had been awarded to New York six years ago, drawing the ire of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo said that healthcare funding for New York which was previously granted in 2014 had been canceled by the president’s administration.  The $8 billion was earmarked to allow the state to transition healthcare services from primarily hospital driven to more of a community-based healthcare system. “If there's one area that you'd think should be beyond politics, it's healthcare,” Cuomo said. “And what the federal gov…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
22-Year-Old From Rockland Running For State Senate 22-Year-Old From Rockland Running For State Senate
22-Year-Old From Rockland Running For State Senate An upstart 22-year-old from the area announced his intention to run for the New York State Senate. Rockland resident Matthew Weinberg, a Republican, is the latest candidacy to throw his hat into the ring for the New York State Senate District 38 seat that has been held by Democratic Sen. David Carlucci since 2010. Carlucci will be challenging for the retiring Nita Lowey’s seat in New York’s 17th congressional district.  In a statement, Weinberg, of Suffern, cited "disunity within his district, depressed property values due to some of the highest property and school taxes in the nation,…

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by Zak Failla
News
Rockland Duo Among Five Charged In Health Care Fraud Takedown Rockland Duo Among Five Charged In Health Care Fraud Takedown
Rockland Duo Among Five Charged In Health Care Fraud Takedown Two doctors, a pharmacy owner, pharmacist who lost his license and a registered nurse are facing charges for their roles in a $17 million fraud scheme. The United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York announced that Anna Steiner, 63, Denny Martin, 46, Andrew Barrett, 60, Phyllis Pincus, 58, and Kevin McMahon, 31, have been charged for defrauding the Medicare and Medicaid programs by overbilling them by millions of dollars. It is alleged that Steiner, a licensed anesthesiologist from Valatie in Columbia County, New York, was involved in a $17.4 million scheme related …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Chestnut Ridge Generic Drug Company Accused In Price-Fixing Scheme Chestnut Ridge Generic Drug Company Accused In Price-Fixing Scheme
Chestnut Ridge Generic Drug Company Accused In Price-Fixing Scheme A generic drug company based in Chestnut Ridge and a drug sales and marketing executive from Bardonia are among those charged in what authorities called “one of the most egregious and damaging price-fixing conspiracies in the history of the United States.”  A complaint filed by the 44 states in U.S. District Court in Connecticut names 20 companies and 16 individuals accused of participating in the scheme. Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc., of Chestnut Ridge, and Ara Aprahamian, of Bardonia, the vice president of sales and marketing at Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A, Inc., in Hawthorn…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NY State Part Of $209.2M Nationwide Settlement With Walgreens Over Medicaid Fraud NY State Part Of $209.2M Nationwide Settlement With Walgreens Over Medicaid Fraud
NY State Part Of $209.2M Nationwide Settlement With Walgreens Over Medicaid Fraud Walgreens has agreed to a nationwide settlement with New York and federal lawmakers regarding allegations of fraudulent over-dispensing of insulin pens at Walgreens pharmacies. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that an agreement has been reached resolving allegations that Walgreens knowingly engaged in fraudulent conduct when it dispensed insulin pens. According to James, “when filling insulin prescriptions, Walgreens did not always adhere to the dosage outlined by the prescribing doctor, but rather dispensed insulin pens in boxes containing five pens, regardless of the pati…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Monsey Fire Department President Charged With Workers Comp, Medicaid Fraud Monsey Fire Department President Charged With Workers Comp, Medicaid Fraud
Monsey Fire Department President Charged With Workers Comp, Medicaid Fraud A respected Rockland firefighter has been charged with fraudulently collecting more than $100,000 in Workers Compensation and Medicaid payments while employed.  Raphael Ziegler, 41, the Monsey Fire Department president and a former New Hempstead fire inspector, filed for and accepted the monies while out on disability and working outside jobs and running a side taxi business, said state Inspector General Leahy Scott on Thursday in a joint news release with acting Rockland District Attorney Kevin Gilleece. Ziegler, of Monsey, who is currently employed as a Fire Protection Spec…

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by Kathy Reakes
Politics
Proposed $709M Rockland Budget Would See Tax Increase Proposed $709M Rockland Budget Would See Tax Increase
Proposed $709M Rockland Budget Would See Tax Increase Next year's proposed $709 million budget for Rockland County would raise property taxes by 2.9 percent, County Executive Ed Day announced on Monday, Oct. 1. While unveiling the proposed 2019 budget, Day said it remains under the state's 3 percent cap on annual property tax increases while fully funding not-for-profits, investing in law enforcement and reviving the Office for People with Disabilities. Day detailed his proposed spending plan at the Sheriff’s Backup Communications Center in New City, accompanied by Sheriff Louis Falco; because of its renewed focus on the needs of law enforceme…

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by Jon Craig
News
Area Taxi Cab Company Owner Charged With Stealing $200K Area Taxi Cab Company Owner Charged With Stealing $200K
Area Taxi Cab Company Owner Charged With Stealing $200K The owner and operator of a Hudson Valley taxicab company has been arrested for allegedly stealing more than $200,000 from Medicaid through the submission of false claims for medical transportation services. Richard Quitoni, 29, who owns and operates Quitoni Transportation Inc. in Middletown, was arrested and arraigned in Orange County this week, Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced on Wednesday. Underwood is alleging that from Aug. 30, 2013, through Oct. 1 last year, Quitoni submitted false claims seeking inflated levels of payment from Medicaid by allegedly submitting individual m…

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by Zak Failla
News
Hudson Valley Nurse Sentenced In $390K Scam Hudson Valley Nurse Sentenced In $390K Scam
Hudson Valley Nurse Sentenced In $390K Scam A former registered nurse who stole nearly $400,000 from by making false claims to Medicaid while caring for severely disabled patients in Westchester County is going to spend a year behind bars and has been ordered to pay restitution for his crimes. Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced on Monday that Seymour, Connecticut resident Collins Anyanwu-Mueller has been sentenced to one year in jail, and must pay $367,954 in restitution after pleading guilty to stealing from Medicaid over a five-year span by making false claims regarding care to patients he never provided. Anyanwu-Mueller …

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by Zak Failla