A Jamestown man has been charged in allegedly stealing more than $7,500 from Medicaid.
State dAttorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the arrest of Haimid Thompson, a/k/a “Mookie”, for allegedly stealing by submitting false claims for rides he claimed he provided to a Medicaid recipient through the taxi service 716 Transportation, Inc. (716).
Thompson allegedly paid an individual, who was working with the Attorney General’s office, to request transportation services from 716 and then falsely reported to the company that he provided daily rides to that individual. The Attorney General’s ongoing investigation into Medicaid transit scams-an investigation dubbed “Operation Ghost Ride”-revealed that 716 submitted claims to, and received payment from, Medicaid for rides that in fact did not take place.
Thompson was arrested on a 30-count felony complaint and was released on $5,000 bail. He is charged with third-degree grand larceny, a class D felony; first-degree offering a false instrument for filin, a class E felony; first-degree falsifying business records, a class E felony; and Prohibited Practice by a Medical Assistance Provider, a class E felony. Thompson will return to court on April 27.
“The false reporting of medical transports by taxi drivers costs taxpayers millions of dollars a year in phony bills,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “My office will continue to prosecute such fraudulent practices in order to protect Medicaid resources for the vulnerable New Yorkers who rely on them.”