UPDATE: Long Island Resident Pleads Guilty for Role in $1 Million Medicaid Fraud Scheme

Published Date

A Long Island resident, accused by federal prosecutors last year of defrauding the Medicaid program of more than $1 million following an OMIG-assisted investigation, pleaded guilty today for his role of organizing the scheme.

Ibrahim Aksakal, 49, of East Patchogue, N.Y., pleaded guilty at the federal courthouse in Central Islip to conspiring to commit health care and wire fraud, and consented to the forfeiture of $397,500 in proceeds he garnered facilitating the fraudulent enrollment of pregnant woman into the NYS Medicaid program.

“Medicaid fraud, as this egregious scheme represents, threatens the health and safety of beneficiaries, wastes taxpayer dollars and drains essential resources from the health care delivery system,” stated Acting OMIG Inspector General Walsh. “My office will continue to be vigilant, particularly in these most challenging times in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and work closely with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the Medicaid program, hold wrong doers fully accountable, and preserve precious health care resources.”

Aksakal was indicted in Dec. 2020 along with five co-conspirators after the investigation revealed the group helped pregnant Turkish women fraudulently enter the United States between 2017 and 2020 using tourist and business visas to give birth in Suffolk County so that their children would obtain birthright citizenship and medical benefits.

As alleged in the indictment and court filings, the pregnant women stayed in one of seven “birth houses” that Aksakal maintained in Center Moriches, Dix Hills, East Northport, East Patchogue, Smithtown and West Babylon. Aksakal and his co-conspirators had then submitted fraudulent Medicaid applications on behalf of the pregnant women, for which Medicaid disbursed more than $1 million in fraudulently obtained benefits.

When sentenced, Aksakal faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment.

Read more about the plea as well as OMIG's assistance.

New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General

Our mission is to enhance the integrity of the New York State Medicaid program by preventing and detecting fraudulent, abusive, and wasteful practices within the Medicaid program and recovering improperly expended Medicaid funds while promoting high-quality patient care.

Contact us: OMIG, 800 North Pearl Street, Albany, NY 12204. Phone: (518) 473-3782; Fax: (518) 474-6773; Fraud Hotline: 1-(877) 87-FRAUD/1-(877) 873-7283

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