Medicaid fraud involving approximately $65 million in claims has produced another guilty plea in Brooklyn. Ahsan Ijaz pleaded guilty Oct. 2 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, according to federal prosecutors.
Ijaz, 29, owned two social adult day care centers and a home health care fiscal intermediary. Prosecutors said the businesses billed Medicaid for services they did not provide, while paying beneficiaries cash incentives.
According to STL.News reporting on the plea, Ijaz is the 10th defendant to plead guilty in the investigation. Sentencing is scheduled for March 10, 2027, with a statutory maximum of 10 years in federal prison.
Medicaid Fraud Used Cash Recruitment
Ijaz owned Happy Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc. and Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc. The Brooklyn businesses operated alongside Responsible Care Staffing Inc., the home health care fiscal intermediary.
In the Medicaid fraud scheme, prosecutors said cash kickbacks and bribes encouraged Medicaid recipients to enroll with the businesses. Claims then sought payment for purported adult day care and home health services that were not actually provided.
In some instances, beneficiaries were outside the United States when records claimed they received services in New York. Federal prosecutors alleged that the broader operation began around October 2017.
Responsible Care participated in New York Medicaid’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. The program let qualifying recipients obtain assistance with daily activities and exercise greater control over their care providers.
Prosecutors alleged that marketers recruited beneficiaries in exchange for kickbacks and bribes. Business entities allegedly laundered proceeds and generated cash used to finance payments that maintained the recruitment operation.
Earlier Sentencing Covered Different Claim Totals
Zakia Khan received a 76-month prison sentence in September, imposed by U.S. District Judge Natasha C. Merle. Khan had pleaded guilty in August 2025 to health care fraud conspiracy and a separate health care kickback conspiracy.
In Khan’s Medicaid fraud case, prosecutors established approximately $64 million in fraudulent billing by Happy Family and Family Social between 2017 and 2024. Medicaid paid approximately $56 million on those claims.
Khan was ordered to pay more than $56 million in restitution and forfeit $5 million in proceeds. Forfeited assets included two properties, cash and gold jewelry seized during a search.
The original Medicaid fraud indictment alleged approximately $68 million in Medicaid billing across the broader operation. That figure, Khan’s totals and approximately $65 million cited with Ijaz’s plea describe different aspects of the case.
Investigators also obtained undercover images showing Khan paying illegal kickbacks inside the Happy Family office. Other released images showed recipients receiving cash in exchange for completing false attendance sheets.
Recruiters Elaine Antao, also known as Aleena, and Manal Wasef pleaded guilty in January to health care fraud conspiracy. Their plea agreements required forfeiture of approximately $1 million collectively, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said the recruiters referred beneficiaries between approximately October 2017 and July 2024 in exchange for illegal payments. Antao and Wasef also paid recipients kickbacks connected to Medicaid-funded services that were not provided.
Medicaid Fraud Case Moves Toward Sentencing
The investigation involved the Health and Human Services inspector general, Homeland Security Investigations New York and the New York City Police Department. The case remains pending in the Eastern District of New York.
Related financial coverage includes federal action against an alleged financing network, financial institutions’ infrastructure changes and Airtel Money’s proposed financing.
Ijaz’s plea does not establish guilt for defendants who have not pleaded guilty or been convicted. At the March 10, 2027 sentencing, the judge will consider sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
