Adult day-care owner pleads guilty in $65 million Medicaid scheme
Oct 11, 2026 edition · GC-2026-0170 · Published 2026-10-11 · Version 4 · Final
Ahsan Ijaz pleaded guilty in a roughly $65 million New York Medicaid scheme involving adult day care and home-care businesses. DOJ describes beneficiary kickbacks and claims for services never provided, including during overseas absences. Sentencing was scheduled for March 2027, rather than already imposed.
What happened
DOJ’s October 2 announcement reports Ahsan Ijaz’s guilty plea to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in a scheme involving approximately $65 million in New York Medicaid claims. Ijaz was an owner of Happy Family Social Adult Day Care Center, Family Social Adult Day Care Center and Responsible Care Staffing, a home-health fiscal intermediary. The release describes claims for adult day-care and home-health services that were not provided. The scheme amount is not identified as an individual fine or restitution order.
According to the court documents summarized by DOJ, the businesses paid cash kickbacks and bribes over roughly seven years to induce Medicaid recipients to enroll. Claims included services supposedly delivered while some recipients were outside the United States. Ijaz was the tenth defendant to plead guilty in the matter. The announcement scheduled sentencing for March 10, 2027, and stated a ten-year statutory maximum; neither establishes the sentence that a judge would later impose. The operational significance lies in connecting enrollment incentives, attendance or travel information and evidence of actual care before claims are billed, rather than relying on enrollment alone as proof of service.
Scope and timing
- Authority status
- Final
- Applicability
- Operationally relevant
- Audience
- Health systems, Provider networks
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Why it matters
Attendance and actual service delivery need reconciliation with claims, including beneficiary travel and enrollment incentives. The plea is an existing case, not a new California Medicaid rule.
Recommended action
Operations, Revenue Cycle and Compliance should reconcile attendance, service records and claims, audit enrollment incentives and investigate services billed while beneficiaries were absent.
Case details
- agencies
- U.S. Department of Justice
- entities
- Ahsan Ijaz, Happy Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc., Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc., Responsible Care Staffing Inc.
- action Type
- Criminal resolution
- event Date
- 2026-10-02
- alleged Conduct
- Medicaid kickbacks and billing for services not provided.
- resolution
- Guilty plea; sentencing remains pending.
Operational lessons
- Audit referral remuneration, service evidence and beneficiary attendance, including claims during overseas travel. Escalate unsupported Medicaid claims.
Sources
- Social adult day-care owner pleads guilty to $65 million Medicaid fraudOfficial · DOJ · 2026-10-02 · Source review 2026-10-11
Complete edition and supplemental material
This finding in the complete approved report →Regulatory horizons, CIA trends and implementation trackers remain in the full report.
Read the entire Enforcement Briefing report →