Many people associate Medicaid solely with basic medical care for low-income individuals. However, Medicaid offers coverage for a broader range of services that help individuals get the care they need. For instance, ambulette services, a non-emergency medical transportation program offered for those Medicaid recipients with mobility limitations. These services are very helpful for those in wheelchairs and an essential part of Adnan Arshad muti-million dollar Medicaid health care scheme. While Mr. Arshad should have been transporting medical patients, turns out the only people he took for a ride were the American taxpayers.
Arshad was the owner of MTK Taxi LLC and part owner of All-Star Taxi LLC, both located in Long Island. Nearly $20 million was misappropriated by Arshad, who used his ambulette service as a backdrop for fraud and deceit. From approximately December 2020 to June 2024, Arshad solicited and paid Medicaid beneficiaries to request ambulette services that were not needed or necessary. Under Arshad’s direction, the beneficiaries would order medical transportation services specifically from Arshad for transportation to addiction treatment centers for the beneficiaries’ purportedly necessary methadone treatment. Although, Arshad never provided any transportation.
While there were numerous addiction treatment centers on Long Island the beneficiaries could have utilized, Arshad instructed them to order rides to addiction treatment centers in New York City and to list false addresses so they could obtain higher reimbursement rates from Medicaid for longer rides. The transportation companies owned or operated by Arshad billed Medicaid over $16 million for trips to three addiction treatment centers in New York City, for services never provided. And many of those claims were for supposed beneficiaries who were actually deceased, hospitalized or incarcerated at the time of the alleged services.
On July 12, 2025, Arshad pled guilty to health care fraud.
Great job by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in this case.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Long Island ambulette pleads guilty in $20M Medicaid fraud scheme” published by Long Island Business News on June 12, 2025.
The owner of a Long Island ambulette company pleaded guilty in federal court in Central Islip on Wednesday in a scheme involving a conspiracy to steal $20 million from Medicaid.
Adnan “Eddie” Arshad pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit both healthcare fraud and money laundering, according to Joseph Nocella, Jr., U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Now, Arshad faces up to 20 years in prison, restitution of at least $16 million and forfeiture of over $19 million, including several properties and vehicles.
