An Ulster County Medicaid fraud case involving more than $1.1 million in improper billing has ended with a prison sentence for the owner of a medical transportation company. Ulster County Limo Owner Sentenced for $1.1M Medicaid Fraud. Muhammad W. Khan, owner of MAK Limo, previously pleaded guilty to first-degree grand larceny after prosecutors said he inflated transportation bills, charged Medicaid for trips that never happened and paid kickbacks to patients.
NEWS10 reported Sept. 26 that Khan was sentenced to three to nine years in state prison and ordered to pay full restitution. Earlier this year, the New York State Comptroller’s Office said the total theft exceeded $1.1 million.
How investigators say the scheme worked
According to State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Ulster County District Attorney Emmanuel C. Nneji, Khan’s company provided non-emergency medical transportation for Medicaid recipients.
Investigators said that from November 2020 through August 2024, Khan fraudulently billed the Medicaid program in several ways. Authorities said he sometimes billed group rides as if each passenger had received an individual trip, increasing the amount charged to Medicaid.
Prosecutors also said the company billed for rides that were never provided and paid kickbacks to patients to encourage them to use the company’s transportation services.
Khan pleaded guilty in March to first-degree grand larceny.
More than $1.1 million taken from Medicaid
The Comptroller’s Office said Khan stole roughly $1.1 million through the scheme. The amount cited in reporting is $1,103,358.
Medicaid is jointly funded by the state and federal governments and pays for health care services for eligible residents. Non-emergency medical transportation can be an important benefit for patients who need help getting to doctors, treatment centers and other health appointments.
Fraud in that system can drain money from services intended for patients and increase costs for taxpayers.
State and county investigators worked together
The investigation involved the New York State Comptroller’s Division of Investigations and the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office. DiNapoli has said the case showed the importance of cooperation between agencies when public money is being misused.
After Khan’s guilty plea, DiNapoli accused him of falsifying bills and bribing patients to take money from the Medicaid program.
District Attorney Nneji also credited investigators and attorneys who worked on the case, saying the scheme was uncovered through persistent collaborative work.
Why medical transportation fraud is closely watched
New York has repeatedly investigated fraud involving Medicaid transportation because the system processes large numbers of rides and payments. Fraud can include billing for rides that never occurred, inflating mileage, adding false tolls or paying kickbacks to patients.
State oversight agencies use billing data, audits, witness interviews and financial records to identify suspicious patterns.
Common red flags investigators look for include:
- Trips billed at times when patients were not traveling.
- Multiple riders billed as separate private trips.
- Impossible travel times or mileage totals.
- Repeated billing for services not supported by records.
- Payments or gifts offered to patients in exchange for choosing a transportation provider.
Restitution is part of the sentence
In addition to prison, Khan was ordered to repay the stolen money. Restitution is intended to return funds to the government program that suffered the loss, although collecting the full amount can take time depending on the defendant’s assets and financial situation.
The case is significant because the money involved was public Medicaid funding. Those dollars are supported by taxpayers and are meant to pay for health services used by millions of New Yorkers.
For residents who use Medicaid transportation, the case does not change eligibility for legitimate rides. Patients should continue to use authorized transportation providers and report suspicious billing or requests for improper payments.
Sources: NEWS10 ABC; New York State Comptroller.
