Shirley ambulette operators charged in $35M Medicaid fraud scheme

The operators of a Shirley-based ambulette service defrauded Medicaid by billing the program for more than $35 million in rides they never provided or whose costs were inflated, federal prosecutors alleged.

Saad Aziz, 52, of Shirley, and Zabed Chowdhury, 49, of Lake Ronkonkoma, were indicted Wednesday in federal court in Central Islip on charges including money laundering, paying healthcare kickbacks, conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and healthcare fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Prosecutors said Aziz, the owner and operator of Tri-Hamlet Taxi Inc., and Chowdhury, a manager, used proceeds from the scheme to fund their lifestyles and purchase multiple investment properties and homes worth about $6 million.

Aziz and Chowdhury both plan to plead not guilty, according to their attorneys. Kevin Keating, an attorney for Aziz said in a statement that Aziz “has an impeccable reputation in his community.”

Evan Sugar, an attorney for Chowdury, said that they will “respond to these allegations in court.”

“Mr. Chowdhury is entitled to the presumption of innocence that lies at the heart of our justice system,” Sugar said. “An indictment is not evidence of guilt.”

If convicted, Aziz and Chowdhury face up to 20 years in prison, plus forfeiture and restitution of at least $35 million, including multiple properties and 15 bank accounts, prosecutors said.

From approximately January 2019 to October 2025, prosecutors said, Aziz and Chowdhury paid Medicaid recipients kickbacks to request transportation from Tri-Hamlet, primarily for methadone treatment. In many cases, prosecutors said, the rides were never provided.

Aziz and Chowdhury were caught on video giving envelopes stuffed with cash to undercover officers, according to a court filing. The indictment alleged that the two instructed the officers to request rides from false addresses to distant clinics, allowing the company to bill Medicaid hundreds of dollars per trip.

In some cases, prosecutors said, Aziz and Chowdhury instructed Medicaid beneficiaries to request rides to treatment centers in New York City — and  to provide false pickup or drop-off addresses. 

Tri-Hamlet billed Medicaid more than $18 million for rides exceeding 75 miles, according to the news release.

“As alleged, the defendants turned a transportation program intended to provide vulnerable Medicaid beneficiaries with access to critical medical care into a vehicle for personal enrichment,” Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.