A Schenectady County medical transportation company owner pleaded guilty Monday to stealing more than $1.8 million from New York’s Medicaid program through inflated bills and claims for rides that never happened.
The owner of Angel Medical Transportation, Mohammad Chaudhry, 43, admitted first-degree grand larceny, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced with Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney and Sheriff Dominic Dagostino.
Chaudhry is expected to be ordered to repay the full amount and serve three to nine years in state prison. He has not yet been sentenced; sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 25 before Schenectady County Court Judge Matthew Sypniewski.
The case concerns Medicaid claims submitted from January 2020 through September 2024. Chaudhry was indicted in October 2025.
Investigators found that the company sought payments for purported individual trips that were actually unauthorized group rides. It also billed for trips that did not occur and falsified destinations to increase its payments, according to the comptroller’s office.
Medicaid allows eligible patients to use transportation services for legitimate medical appointments, with providers then billing the program. Group rides require prior authorization, and providers may bill mileage only once for an approved group trip.
Investigators also alleged that Chaudhry paid kickbacks to patients seeking drug treatment to persuade them to use the company’s services. In some instances, recipients allegedly used that cash to buy illicit drugs, the comptroller’s office said.
The announcement identifies Chaudhry’s office manager, Noah Shook, as a co-defendant accused of paying kickbacks to Medicaid recipients. His next court appearance is Nov. 19. The allegations against Shook remain accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Assistant District Attorneys Leah Hoover and William Lemon prosecuted Chaudhry’s case.
Carney said the case was the second completed Medicaid fraud prosecution of this type in Schenectady County and that another, larger case had recently begun with an arrest. He said prosecutors seek both imprisonment and restitution in such cases.
DiNapoli’s office said its Medicaid fraud investigations over the past 18 months have resulted in 62 arrests and court-ordered recovery of more than $50 million. Those figures describe the broader investigative work, rather than the amount recovered in this case.
Suspected fraud involving taxpayer money can be reported to the comptroller’s toll-free hotline at 1-888-672-4555 or through the Division of Investigations. Written complaints can be sent to the Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 8th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.
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