Pakistani-American Community Leader Arrested in Alleged $38 Million Medicaid Fraud
New York — A prominent Pakistani-American community leader and seven others have been arrested in connection with an alleged $38 million Medicaid fraud involving adult daycare centers in Brooklyn, according to media reports.
Pervez Siddiqui, a member of a New York City community board in Brooklyn, was arrested Monday along with seven alleged co-conspirators, the New York Post reported.
Federal prosecutors have accused Siddiqui and the others of operating a fraudulent billing scheme through APNA Adult Daycare and Ashiana Social Adult Daycare, two centers intended to serve adults with disabilities or other health needs.
The defendants allegedly recruited people to enroll in programs at the centers and then billed Medicaid for services that were not provided or were not medically necessary. Some participants allegedly received a portion of the Medicaid payments in exchange for allowing the centers to use their identities to submit false claims.
Prosecutors said the alleged scheme operated from 2019 through December 2025.
The other defendants were identified as Shazia Bibi, also known as Shazia Wattoo; Abdul Aziz; Shair Ali; Zebun Ahmed; Josna Begum; Saira Khatoon; and Atia Shahnaz.
According to the report, the defendants used billing staff based in Pakistan and code words such as “laddu” while allegedly laundering proceeds through shell companies.
Prosecutors also alleged that falsified sign-in sheets listed more participants than the facilities could accommodate. Some people recorded as attending the programs were reportedly in Pakistan at the time.
Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income Americans, covers certain long-term care services for elderly and disabled people. Payments for such services can reach as much as $6,000 per person each month.
Authorities raided locations connected to the alleged scheme in December, the Post reported.
Siddiqui, 78, owns about 15 pharmacies in New Jersey and is associated with the American Pakistani Public Affairs Committee. His pharmacies were not mentioned in the charging documents.
The Post said Siddiqui’s political and community activities had given him access to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other public officials.
Bibi, who also serves on a community board, testified before the New York City Council in 2022 about the challenges facing Pakistani and Muslim Americans.
“We as a Pakistani American Community and as a Muslim American feel alienated because we as a community could not get any resources,” she said.
In a separate case, Zakia Khan and Ahsan Ijaz admitted in federal court to defrauding the government of $68 million through false claims submitted to another Medicaid program.
The owners of Happy Family Social Adult Day Care and Family Social Adult Day Care admitted exploiting a program that pays relatives to care for senior citizens at home as an alternative to more expensive nursing home care.
Brooklyn federal prosecutor Breon Peace said at the time, “Social adult day care and home health services are meant to help seniors, but as alleged, the defendants allegedly turned their businesses into a brazen cash grab of millions of dollars from the Medicaid program”. (Source: IANS)
