New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert M. Carney, and Schenectady County Sheriff Dominic Dagostino announced the guilty plea of Muhammad Adnan Saeed, owner of Sublime Medical Transportation, for stealing over $700,000 from the state’s Medicaid program. Saeed inflated Medicaid bills by falsely claiming that group rides were separate, individual rides in order to unlawfully receive mileage payments for each individual in the group.

"Muhammad Adnan Saeed defrauded the Medicaid program through a systematic billing scheme in order to bolster his own profits at the expense of New Yorkers,” DiNapoli said. “The Medicaid program provides access to essential health care for millions of people, and my office will continue to partner with law enforcement to root out fraud. My thanks to District Attorney Carney and Schenectady County Sheriff Dagostino for their partnership in protecting the Medicaid program.” 

Carney said: “This defendant lined his pockets at the expense of a critical government program designed to ensure our vulnerable, low-income population receives the medical care it needs. Worse, the defendant’s fraud was committed on the backs of people struggling with addiction. Rather than helping them get the treatment they need, the defendant used them to cheat Medicaid and paid them cash kickbacks, furthering their addiction. The defendant inflated his profits by transporting patients from Schenectady to Amsterdam rather than down the street to a Schenectady clinic, and from Oneonta to Utica. All the while the defendant was collecting unemployment benefits to which he was not entitled. Mr. Saeed then sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to his family overseas to hide his fraudulent earnings. I thank State Comptroller DiNapoli and his staff for their work uncovering the multiple layers of fraud perpetrated by this defendant.” 

Dagostino said: "Individuals who steal from taxpayers by defrauding the Medicaid system should be fully prosecuted and made to pay for their crimes. I thank State Comptroller DiNapoli and Schenectady County District Attorney Carney, as well as my investigators, for their efforts to bring Muhammad Adnan Saeed to justice." 

Saeed, 40, is the president of Sublime Medical Transportation, a Schenectady County company that is enrolled in the Medicaid program as a participating transportation provider for program beneficiaries. 

Under Medicaid regulations, patients may use transportation services for legitimate appointments which are then billed to the Medicaid program by the provider. Group rides are not allowed without prior authorization and, when approved, providers can only bill for mileage once for the group. 

The joint investigation revealed that Saeed fraudulently billed the Medicaid program for over four years, claiming payment for individual rides which were actually unauthorized group rides. The investigation found that over 2,500 transportation trips were fraudulent, accounting for nearly 85% of the Medicaid claims submitted by Sublime. 

This scheme inflated the amount the state paid Sublime. The investigation also found Saeed paid kickbacks to Medicaid enrollees to use Sublime’s services and facilitate the crime. Saeed, who earned $88,500 as a driver for his company, also applied for and unlawfully collected state unemployment insurance benefits in excess of $60,000, while at the same time running Sublime. 

Saeed pleaded guilty today in Schenectady County Court before Judge Mark J. Caruso to two counts of grand larceny in the second degree, in connection with his Medicaid fraud and unemployment scheme. 

As part of the plea agreement, Saeed will serve a state prison sentence and pay full restitution. He is due back in court on May 23 for sentencing. 

The case was prosecuted by ADA William Lemon and the defendant was represented by Justin Dearmas.

Since taking office in 2007, DiNapoli has committed to fighting public corruption and encourages the public to help fight fraud and abuse. New Yorkers can report allegations of fraud involving taxpayer money by calling the toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1-888-672-4555, by emailing a complaint to [email protected] or by mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 8th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.