ALBANY, NEW YORK – First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III today announced criminal charges against five individuals and civil health care fraud and controlled substances settlements with five parties in the Capital Region. These actions are part of the Department of Justice’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, a nationwide effort to combat fraud and opioid abuse.
The coordinated law enforcement action resulted in charges against 455 defendants across 56 federal districts and 45 U.S. states and territories, including 90 doctors and other licensed medical professionals. These schemes involved over $6.5 billion in false claims and significant patient harm. The takedown also featured unprecedented international cooperation, leading to the apprehension of fraudsters in Kyrenia, Estonia, and the Philippines, and the seizure of over $182 million in assets.
"Today’s announcement should put all fraudsters on notice," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III. "Those who enrich themselves through stealing from the hardworking American taxpayers will be relentlessly investigated, prosecuted, and held accountable to the highest standard under the law. Health care fraud is not a victimless crime, every fraudulent claim submitted, every false bill paid, and every scheme designed to exploit our system steals from the taxpayers and exploits the integrity of programs that millions depend upon."
In the Northern District of New York, Joseph Carl, 55, and Randolph Ekstrom, 48, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud, and conspiracy to pay healthcare kickbacks. They allegedly paid Medicaid recipients cash to use Carl’s Cab for transportation to medical appointments, fraudulently obtaining over $4.2 million in Medicaid reimbursements. Muhammad Zishan, 47, Madiha Javed, 34, and Ghazali Shaikh, 21, of Latham Taxi Inc., face similar charges, accused of paying Medicaid recipients with cash, controlled substances, and falsifying trip data, resulting in over $666,000 in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements.
Civil settlements were also reached in the Northern District. Douglas C. Cline, M.D. P.C., its owner Douglas C. Cline, M.D., 67, and nurse practitioner Laurie McKenna, 64, agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve allegations of prescribing high-dose opioids without adequate oversight and tying prescriptions to cash payments. Aptihealth Inc. and Aptihealth Medical, PLLC, a telehealth provider, settled for $300,000 over claims of billing for unrendered services, improper billing of administrative tasks, and providing gift cards to induce service use.
The comprehensive effort included actions by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to suspend 1,079 providers and revoke billing privileges for 1,403. Additionally, 48 Civil Monetary Payment settlements amounted to over $73 million, and the DEA initiated 928 administrative cases to revoke authority for handling controlled substances. The Department of Justice recently created the National Fraud Enforcement Division, supporting President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort to combat fraud, waste, and abuse in federal benefit programs.
"We look forward to bringing more cases like this as we work together to protect the integrity of our healthcare system," Sarcone added, emphasizing the need for strong coordination across federal and state enforcement partners to safeguard New York’s Medicaid program, which exceeds $100 billion.