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See photos from all the game action last weekend.
HOMES EVERY WEEK! Burgh/North Countryman
June 2, 2018
suncommunitynews.com
• EDITION •
More details \ emerge in Medicaid conspiracy scheme Medical transport companies hauled in nearly $10 million in two years By Pete DeMola EDITOR
PLATTSBURGH | A sixth defendant has been arraigned on federal conspiracy charges related to a sweeping Medicaid fraud scheme. Arshad Nazir was charged last Thursday with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and offering and conspiring to pay bribes and kickbacks to Medicaid beneficiaries. Following his appearance at the Northern District of New York United States District Court in Plattsburgh, Nazir was remanded into the custody of state police, and is expected to face additional charges as part of the joint state and federal probe of what authorities contend is an industry plagued with corruption and abuse.
Defendants arrested as part of a criminal probe into Medicaid fraud appeared at Northern District of New York United States District Court in Plattsburgh on Thursday. Photo by Pete DeMola Details on potential state charges were not immediately available. Ten medical taxi providers across the eastern Adirondacks have been implicated in the scheme. Nazir, owner of Avalanche Taxi in Ticonderoga, is the 13th defendant to face criminal charges.
LUCRATIVE INDUSTRY
For the suspects, many of whom have associations with convenience stores and other businesses across the region, linking into the state’s Medicaid transport system via startup taxi operations proved to be extremely lucrative. Since 2015, Adirondack Taxi & Limo, Ti Taxi and Green Mountain Medical Transportation have collectively received $7.3 million in taxpayer-funded payments, according to the FBI,
and Nazir’s indictment brings the total number to $9.7 million. It’s unclear how many of those were legitimate medical trips, but the funds pouring in from the state Department of Health (DOH) constituted all but a small percentage of their profits. The FBI cited intercepted phone discussions between Nazir and Adirondack Taxi & Limo owner Khalid Chadder discussing in their native Punjabi what appeared to be a systemic payment and gift structure designed for drivers to convince passengers to retain their services to transport them to what were ostensibly medical appointments across the region. “Nazir informed Chadder how his drivers pay money to passengers,” according to a signed affidavit by FBI special agent Michelle L. Pherson. “Then the passengers apparently negotiate with the drivers, looking for more money.” » Fraud Cont. on pg. 3
Council passes five year plan, cuts anticipated
Ar e a s n o i t a r b e Cel
» pg. 13
Plattsburgh Common Council adopts five-year budget outlook By Elizabeth Izzo STA FF W RITER
PLATTSBURGH | With their sights set on rebuilding the City of Plattsburgh’s fund balance while avoiding double-digit tax increases, the Plattsburgh Common Council last week passed their annual five-year
budget outlook. The document, used for planning purposes as the mayor constructs his yearly budget plan, reveals that the council expects make an additional $650,000 in permanent and $65,000 in temporary cuts in 2019. Those cuts, paired with a projected 1.9 percent tax increase, would allow for the city to rebuild its fund balance to at least $1.1 million, according to the plan. “None of this is going to be easy,” said Councilor Michael Kelly. “This is the sort of thing we need to do to deliver the taxpayers a sustainable budget.” » Five year plan Cont. on pg. 7
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