Nassau DA: 9 charged in Medicaid fraud

Nine people were arrested Friday on charges that they stole $282,000 in undeserved Medicaid benefits, usually by hiding assets and income from the government, Nassau County prosecutors said.

The sweep was the result of a joint investigation by the Nassau district attorney's office and the Department of Social Services Special Investigations Unit, prosecutors said.

Since 2007, District Attorney Kathleen Rice's office has uncovered more than $3.4 million in stolen benefits and returned more than $2.1 million to taxpayers, prosecutors said.

"Medicaid is designed to provide much-needed health care to our society's most vulnerable members, not to criminals who think nothing of placing their financial burdens on the backs of the taxpayer," Rice said in a statement.

The suspects face charges of grand larceny, welfare fraud and offering a false instrument for filing, among others.

Medicaid provides free public health insurance to more than 40 million low-income individuals nationwide. It is funded jointly by federal, state, and county governments. Restitution from fraud cases, such as these, is returned to the funding agencies, with about 25 percent going to the state and another 25 percent going to the local county.

"Nassau County is working tirelessly to root out waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars," County Executive Edward Mangano said in a statement.

Prosecutors said the U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates that 10 percent of health care spending is lost to fraud and abuse. Nassau County spends more than $1 billion per year to fund its portion of Medicaid benefits, prosecutors said. They also said New York State's $52.6 billion annual bill is more than that of any other state.