In a press release dated December 9, 2025, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert M. Carney, and Schenectady County Sheriff Dominic Dagostino announced the guilty plea of Muhammad Adnan Saeed, owner of Sublime Medical Transportation, for stealing over $700,000 from New York State’s Medicaid program.
Saeed inflated Medicaid bills by falsely claiming that group rides
were separate, individual rides in order to unlawfully receive mileage payments
for each individual in the group.
"Muhammad
Adnan Saeed defrauded the Medicaid program through a systematic billing scheme
in order to bolster his own profits at the expense of New Yorkers,” DiNapoli
said. “The Medicaid program provides access to essential health care for
millions of people, and my office will continue to partner with law enforcement
to root out fraud. My thanks to District Attorney Carney and Schenectady County
Sheriff Dagostino for their partnership in protecting the Medicaid program.”
Carney said:
“This defendant lined his pockets at the expense of a critical government
program designed to ensure our vulnerable, low-income population receives the
medical care it needs. Worse, the defendant’s fraud was committed on the backs
of people struggling with addiction. Rather than helping them get the treatment
they need, the defendant used them to cheat Medicaid and paid them cash
kickbacks, furthering their addiction. The defendant inflated his profits by
transporting patients from Schenectady to Amsterdam rather than down the street
to a Schenectady clinic, and from Oneonta to Utica. All the while the defendant
was collecting unemployment benefits to which he was not entitled. Mr.
Saeed then sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to his family overseas to hide
his fraudulent earnings. I thank State Comptroller DiNapoli and his staff for
their work uncovering the multiple layers of fraud perpetrated by this
defendant.”
Dagostino said:
"Individuals who steal from taxpayers by defrauding the Medicaid system
should be fully prosecuted and made to pay for their crimes. I thank State
Comptroller DiNapoli and Schenectady County District Attorney Carney, as well
as my investigators, for their efforts to bring Muhammad Adnan Saeed to
justice."
Saeed, 40, is
the president of Sublime Medical Transportation, a Schenectady County company
that is enrolled in the Medicaid program as a participating transportation
provider for program beneficiaries.
Under Medicaid
regulations, patients may use transportation services for legitimate
appointments which are then billed to the Medicaid program by the provider.
Group rides are not allowed without prior authorization and, when approved,
providers can only bill for mileage once for the group.
The joint
investigation revealed that Saeed fraudulently billed the Medicaid program for
over four years, claiming payment for individual rides which were actually
unauthorized group rides. The investigation found that over 2,500
transportation trips were fraudulent, accounting for nearly 85% of the Medicaid
claims submitted by Sublime.
This scheme
inflated the amount the state paid Sublime. The investigation also found Saeed
paid kickbacks to Medicaid enrollees to use Sublime’s services and facilitate
the crime. Saeed, who earned $88,500 as a driver for his company, also applied
for and unlawfully collected state unemployment insurance benefits in excess of
$60,000, while at the same time running Sublime.
Saeed pleaded
guilty today in Schenectady County Court before Judge Mark J. Caruso to two
counts of grand larceny in the second degree, in connection with his Medicaid
fraud and unemployment scheme.
As part of the
plea agreement, Saeed will serve a state prison sentence and pay full
restitution. He is due back in court on May 23 for sentencing.
The case was
prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney William Lemon and the defendant was represented by Justin
Dearmas.
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Since taking office in 2007, DiNapoli has committed to fighting public corruption and encourages the public to help fight fraud and abuse. Reports of alleged fraud involving taxpayer money may be made by calling the toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1-888-672-4555, by mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 8th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236 or by emailing a complaint to investigations@osc.ny.gov.