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Three medical transportation companies in New York were accused of fraudulently claiming more than 4.7 million yuan from white cards by falsely reporting rides, splitting bills and inflating mileage. Three Family Relations managers were convicted, and some passengers were accused of receiving bribes to cooperate in the fraud.
new York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli recently announced that three New York medical transportation companies were suspected of inflating trip distances, splitting group transportation into multiple separate trips, and inflating mileage.white card (Medicaid ) planned to fraudulently obtain more than NT$4.7 million. Three leaders of the company involved have been arrested and charged with first-degree grand theft. The investigators also alleged that the operators concerned had provided bribes to passengers who cooperated in the fraudulent claims.
Those charged include Ismat Farhan, his brother Efat Rizwan and Rizwan’s wife Fauzia Rizwan, who live in Slingerlands, New York. The latter two live in Schenectady. All three men appeared in Schenectady Municipal Court.
According to the investigation, Farhan and his brother ran USA Medical Transport from a used car dealership, while Rizwan ran NYS Med Transport and EZ Medical Transport from the same location, one of which was owned by his wife.
The white card allows eligible patients to use medical transportation services to go to medical appointments, and the transportation operators will then apply for fees from white card-related projects. However, group transfers must be approved in advance, and the same journey cannot be divided into multiple separate declarations, nor can mileage be declared repeatedly.
Investigators reviewed white card application records from January 2020 to December 2024 and found that American Medical Transportation was suspected of posing as an individual trip for group pick-up and drop-off, falsely reporting more than 2.9 million yuan, and reporting 340,000 yuan for another trip that did not occur at all.
Easy Medical is suspected of falsely reporting more than $1.1 million in group transfer fees and $184,000 in non-existent rides; NYS Med Transport is suspected of improper reporting over $83,000. The investigators also alleged that the operators concerned had provided bribes to passengers who cooperated in the fraudulent claims.
It is worth noting that in March 2023, Farhan and the American Medical Transportation Company operated by him reached a settlement of 862,500 yuan with the State Attorney General’s Office due to improper declaration of white card transportation expenses.
An investigation by the state attorney general at the time found that the company submitted more than 2,500 false claims between 2015 and 2020, including repeated claims for services not provided, exaggerated benefits and group transfers. According to the settlement agreement that year, Farhan and the company admitted relevant conduct and agreed to pay settlement fees.
The State Comptroller’s Office said the investigation began with a complaint received in December 2024 and was subsequently investigated in collaboration with the State Police. DiNapoli pointed out that the White Card provides vital medical coverage to millions of New York residents, and authorities will continue to investigate fraud.
According to the State Comptroller’s Office, its white card fraud investigation has resulted in 61 arrests and court orders of more than $50 million over the past 18 months.
Summary FAQ
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Three companies are involved in this case: USA Medical Transport, EZ Medical Transportation and NYS Med Transport. The investigation revealed that from January 2020 to December 2024, he fraudulently claimed more than 4.7 million yuan from the white card program.
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The investigation revealed that operators used group transfers to pretend to be separate trips, split the same trip into multiple declarations, falsely reported or double calculated benefits, and even reported transfer expenses that did not occur at all.
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Those charged include Ismat Farhan, Efat Rizwan and Fauzia Rizwan, all three of whom are relatives. Farhan and his company also reached an $862,500 settlement with state prosecutors in March 2023 over improper declaration of white card transportation expenses.
