DiNapoli: Owner and Employee of Medical Transport Company Arrested for Defrauding Medicaid

August 23, 2024

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert M. Carney, and Schenectady County Sheriff Dominic Dagostino announced the arrest of Muhammad Adnan Saeed, owner of Sublime Medical Transportation and Heather Smith an employee/driver for the company, for the alleged theft of over $700,000 from the state's Medicaid program. Saeed and Smith are alleged to have inflated bills by falsely claiming that group rides were separate, individual rides and thereby unlawfully received mileage payments for each individual in the group.

"Muhammad Adnan Saeed and Heather Smith allegedly schemed to cheat the Medicaid program and diverted money meant to provide healthcare for New Yorkers in need into their own pockets," DiNapoli said. "Medicaid is a vital program, and my office will continue to partner with law enforcement to hold those who attempt to defraud it accountable. My thanks to District Attorney Carney and Schenectady County Sheriff Dagostino for their partnership in protecting the Medicaid program."

District Attorney Carney said: "These defendants lined their 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 defendants' fraud was committed on the backs of people struggling with addiction. Rather helping them get the treatment they need, the defendants used them to cheat Medicaid and paid them cash kickbacks, enabling their addiction. They inflated their profits by transporting patients from Schenectady to Amsterdam rather than down the street and from Oneonta to Utica. 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 these defendants."

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. Smith, 46, is the supervising driver for Sublime.

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.

A joint investigation revealed that Saeed and Smith allegedly fraudulently billed the Medicaid program by claiming payment for individual rides, which were actually unauthorized group rides, over a four-year period, and through this method fraudulently boosted the amount the company was paid. The investigation also found that patients were paid kickbacks by Saeed and Smith to use Sublime's service to facilitate the crime.

Saeed was also charged with allegedly stealing over $60,000 from New York State's unemployment insurance program, which he was improperly collecting at the same time he was running Sublime.

Saeed was arraigned today in Schenectady County Court by Judge Mark J. Caruso on an indictment charging him with health care fraud, grand larceny, money laundering, medical assistance provider prohibited practices and falsifying business records. He is due back in court on Sept. 6.

Smith was arraigned on Aug. 16 before in Judge Caruso in Schenectady City Court on a charge of grand larceny. She is due back in court on Sept. 25.

The charges filed in this case are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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 filing a complaint online, or by mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 8th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.