ALBANY, N.Y. — Federal prosecutors charged five defendants and reached civil settlements with five others in the Capital Region as part of the Department of Justice’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, which brought charges against 455 defendants nationwide for schemes involving more than $6.5 billion in false claims.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III announced the actions, which target two Medicaid transportation fraud rings and a pain-management clinic in upstate New York. “Today’s announcement should put all fraudsters on notice,” Sarcone said. “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.”
Sarcone added: “Together our partner agencies with the full support of the federal government, will use every available tool to identify fraud, dismantle criminal schemes, and recover taxpayer dollars. 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.”
Joseph Carl, 55, of Clifton Park, New York, and Randolph Ekstrom, 48, of Canajoharie, New York, were charged by superseding indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud and conspiracy to pay healthcare kickbacks. The pair managed Carl’s Cab, a Medicaid transportation provider that allegedly paid recipients cash and other inducements to use the service for rides to medical appointments, including methadone treatment facilities. The indictment alleges the defendants fraudulently obtained $4,296,374.02 in Medicaid reimbursements from at least January 2020 through March 2025.
A second scheme involved Muhammad Zishan, 47, of Glens Falls, New York, Madiha Javed, 34, of Glens Falls, and Ghazali Shaikh, 21, of Latham, New York, who managed Latham Taxi Inc. Zishan and Javed allegedly paid Medicaid recipients cash, controlled substances, and other items to use the taxi service, while all three are charged with falsifying trip data to overbill or bill for services never provided. The indictment alleges $666,281.42 in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements from January 2020 through February 2025. Federal agents seized more than $30,000 in cash and precious metals from Shaikh’s residence during a search warrant, according to statements prosecutors made at Shaikh’s arraignment.
In civil settlements, Douglas C. Cline, M.D. P.C., doing business as Chronic Pain Management in Queensbury, New York, its owner Douglas C. Cline, 67, of Saratoga Springs, and nurse practitioner Laurie McKenna, 64, of Bolton Landing, agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve allegations they prescribed high-dose opioids without adequate medical oversight and tied continued access to prescriptions to recurring cash payments. Separately, Aptihealth Inc. and Aptihealth Medical, PLLC, a telehealth behavioral health provider in Clifton Park, agreed to pay $300,000 to the United States and the State of New York to resolve allegations the company billed Medicare and Medicaid for services not rendered or unsupported by adequate documentation and provided gift cards to induce recipients to receive services.
The national takedown spanned 56 federal districts and 45 states and territories, with 50 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units participating — the most in DOJ history. The operation included 90 doctors and licensed medical professionals among the 455 defendants charged, the seizure of more than $182 million in cash, luxury vehicles, jewelry, and other assets, and international apprehensions in Cyprus, Estonia, and the Philippines. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services suspended 1,079 providers and revoked billing privileges for 1,403 providers, while the Drug Enforcement Administration pursued 928 administrative cases seeking revocation of authority to handle or prescribe controlled substances since Oct. 1, 2025. HHS Office of Inspector General reached 48 civil monetary payment settlements totaling more than $73 million and filed 25 actions under the Civil Monetary Penalties Law seeking more than $10 billion in payments to the Medicare Trust Fund.