Two Brooklyn women have pleaded guilty to orchestrating a massive Medicaid fraud scheme that siphoned $68 million from New York’s controversial home care program by paying illegal kickbacks for services that were never provided.
Manal Wasef and Elaine Antao, both 46, admitted Thursday to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Prosecutors said the pair paid bribes and kickbacks to Medicaid recipients in exchange for enrolling them in social adult day care and home health services that were falsely billed to the state.
Between October 2017 and July 2024, Wasef and Antao worked as marketers and recruiters for Happy Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc., Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc., and Responsible Care Staffing Inc., a home health care fiscal intermediary. Court records show the defendants billed Medicaid for services that were never delivered.
Prosecutors said the two women also used multiple shell businesses to launder fraud proceeds and generate cash to fund the illegal kickbacks. As part of their guilty pleas, Wasef and Antao agreed to forfeit approximately $1 million.
“The defendants were large-scale recruiters who bribed patients with laundered cash and billed Medicaid over $68 million for services that were not provided,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
The scheme targeted New York’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP), which allows individuals with limited medical training to care for elderly or disabled family members or friends. The program relies on hundreds of intermediary firms that act as payroll agents, often with limited oversight.
Wasef and Antao are among eight defendants charged in the long-running investigation. Other accused individuals include Zakia Khan, Ahsan Ijaz, Oasmneah Hamdi, Ansir Abassi, and Amran Hashmi. The two women are the sixth and seventh defendants to plead guilty in the case.
“These defendants placed profit over people and stole funds meant for those who need it most,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations New York Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel.
Antao is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20, while Wasef will be sentenced on May 27. Each faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
