“The defendants were large-scale recruiters who bribed patients with laundered cash and billed Medicaid over $68 million for services that were not provided.”
Manal Wasef, 46, and Elaine Antao, 46, both of Brooklyn, were admitted to conspiring to commit health care fraud after investigators concluded they helped steer Medicaid recipients to specific providers in exchange for bribes and other illicit payments. Authorities allege the operation resulted in more than $68 million in Medicaid billings for services that were not provided. “The defendants were large-scale recruiters who bribed patients with laundered cash and billed Medicaid over $68 million for services that were not provided,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, calling the guilty pleas part of the government’s ongoing effort to combat fraud in taxpayer-funded health care programs.
US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York said the case underscores a broader enforcement push against schemes in which patients are funneled to providers in exchange for illegal payments. Federal authorities, he said, will continue investigating and prosecuting fraud that drains federal health care funds.
Investigators say Wasef and Antao worked as marketers and recruiters for Happy Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc, Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc., and Responsible Care Staffing Inc, described in court filings as a home health care fiscal intermediary. From October 2017 through July 2024, prosecutors allege the defendants referred Medicaid recipients to these businesses in exchange for kickbacks and bribes.
Court documents also describe payments made directly to Medicaid recipients for adult day care and home health services that were billed to Medicaid, but either were not provided or were tied to unlawful kickback arrangements. Authorities say the defendants used multiple business entities to launder fraud proceeds and generate cash used to fund the bribes.
As part of their plea agreements, Wasef and Antao agreed to collectively forfeit about $1 million, prosecutors said. They are the sixth and seventh individuals to plead guilty in the case. Officials from multiple agencies emphasized the alleged impact on public programs and beneficiaries. Naomi Gruchacz, special agent in charge at the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, said schemes involving kickbacks and billing for services not rendered threaten the availability of funds meant to support millions of people who rely on federal health care programs.
Ricky J. Patel, special agent in charge at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York, said the guilty pleas reflect that the defendants understood the nature of the crimes, describing the alleged fraud as harmful to vulnerable Americans and damaging to the broader economy.
Antao is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20, and Wasef on May 27. Each faces up to 10 years in prison, though a federal judge will determine the final sentences after considering federal guidelines and other statutory factors.
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