Federal and State Agents Raid New York City Adult Day Care Centers in Medicaid Fraud Crackdown Targeting More Than 100 Providers
NEW YORK — Federal and state law enforcement officers executed court-authorized search warrants at multiple social adult day care centers across New York City on Tuesday, October 20, bringing a months-long Medicaid fraud investigation into public view. Agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies were seen at centers in Flushing, Queens, in Brooklyn, in Manhattan and on Staten Island, according to local media reports; at one Flushing center, a notice on the door said the business had suspended operations and entry was prohibited, as agents carried boxes of files and computers out of the site. An HSI spokeswoman confirmed to the New York Post that the agency was carrying out a "court-authorized law enforcement action" and declined to comment further, citing the active investigation.
Governor Kathy Hochul announced the same day that the state Department of Health, the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) and the state attorney general's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit have been working for months with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FBI and more than a dozen other federal, state and local partners, targeting more than 100 social adult day care providers suspected of fraud or other illegal activity. "We're targeting providers — we believe — who engaged in illegal activity, ranging from money laundering to kickbacks to improper billing, and other fraudulent activities," Hochul said. "New York has zero tolerance for fraud, and when bad actors take advantage of these critical programs, older New Yorkers in need lose out," she added. According to the governor's office, OMIG investigated 387 subjects related to adult day care operations between 2021 and 2025 and referred approximately 100 cases to the attorney general for potential criminal prosecution; in 2025 alone, the health department reviewed 418 programs for compliance. Earlier this year, two individuals in Brooklyn pleaded guilty to a $68 million adult day care fraud scheme, and investigators announced separate charges in an alleged $120 million Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme connected to adult day care and pharmacy services in Queens. Over the past five years, the governor's office said, New York's Medicaid program has realized more than $15 billion in savings and recoveries through program integrity efforts.
In a statement, the FBI said an audit found that New York's Medicaid program paid about $2.4 billion for social adult day care services from January 2019 through October 2024; the bureau said it joined an interagency working group after finding significant signs of waste, abuse and fraud in the sector, and that investigators are working to determine whether part of that money was stolen. Attorney General Letitia James said her Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has, in fiscal year 2026 alone, secured 59 indictments, 13 convictions and more than $98 million in recoveries from dozens of civil settlements. A day after the searches, Richmond County District Attorney Michael E. McMahon announced that Yangsim Oum, owner of the Staten Island Adult Day Care Center, and Juyoung Choe, its program director — a mother and daughter — had been arrested and indicted on more than 400 counts, accused of billing more than $530,000 for seniors who were never served, including about $13,000 billed for at least 32 seniors who were dead or out of the country on the dates of service; prosecutors said the two were just two of about 100 providers targeted across the city that day.
Social adult day care is a non-medical benefit approved and jointly funded by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and delivered through New York's Managed Long Term Care program, providing daytime supervision, meals, social activities and personal care in community settings. More than 400 programs serve approximately 45,000 Medicaid members statewide at an estimated annual cost of more than $500 million, according to the governor's office. Flushing and Brooklyn's Sunset Park and Eighth Avenue corridor are among New York's largest Chinese communities, and many of the seniors who use such centers are Chinese-speaking. Hochul has directed the health department to deliver recommendations on the program's future by December 31, including options to reform it or phase out the benefit and transition participants to other services for older New Yorkers; health plans have been directed to apply prepayment review to adult day care claims and pursue payment suspensions where warranted. A moratorium on new providers, announced in July, remains in effect until at least January 2027. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, who visited two facilities in Queens on Tuesday, called the operation the largest enforcement action of its kind.
The same day, the federal government also rolled out a new fraud-fighting tool. The Justice Department on October 20 announced the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program (WHIP), run by its National Fraud Enforcement Division and backed by a $25 million commitment from the Treasury Department. The department described it as the first-ever whistleblower rewards program that pays an up-front award for tips leading to criminal charges: individuals who voluntarily provide truthful, original information that leads to criminal charges may receive between $10,000 and $30,000, with awards made at the department's sole discretion after charges are filed. Priority areas include hospice fraud, home health care fraud, day care fraud and special services fraud, and tips can be submitted at america.gov/fraud. "The Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program (WHIP) offers everyone the opportunity to be part of the solution, help expose fraud, and be rewarded quickly for their efforts," Attorney General Todd Blanche said. (GSM, based on releases from the New York governor's office and the U.S. Department of Justice and other public reporting)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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