A New Windsor husband-and-wife team has admitted to ripping off New York's Medicaid program for more than $3.4 million, telling an Orange County judge they spent years filing bogus bills for medical transportation that never should have been paid. Prosecutors say the guilty pleas from Rohail Raja and his wife, Sharma Alam, close out what they consider one of the largest Medicaid transportation fraud cases ever handled in the county.
According to News 12 Long Island, Raja pleaded guilty to first-degree grand larceny and Alam pleaded guilty to fourth-degree conspiracy. In court, both acknowledged that their scheme stole exactly $3,434,730 from Medicaid. News 12 Long Island reported that, under their plea deals, the couple agreed to pay restitution to New York Medicaid. Prosecutors said they will recommend a state prison sentence of 4 to 12 years for Raja if a $1 million payment is made before sentencing, and warned that failing to come up with that money could mean a much longer term behind bars.
Investigators tied the scam to two transportation providers the couple operated, Unique Class Limo Inc. and SNR Limo Inc. Authorities said the businesses routinely billed Medicaid for rides that never happened or were improperly documented. Unique Class admitted responsibility for $2,666,634 in false claims and SNR for $768,096. Those improper payments were logged between April 15, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2024, according to Times Union, which also reported that State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said the defendants will repay the stolen money and have been held accountable.
The case started with a deep dive into billing records. Investigators compared Medicaid transportation claims to appointment logs from medical providers and found glaring mismatches, according to a release from the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General. The Office of the New York State Comptroller said the pair were arrested on Oct. 30, 2025, after auditors uncovered thousands of claims on dates and times when providers had no record of any patient visits and found that group trips had been broken into multiple separate rides on paper. Prosecutors said Orange County sheriff’s deputies and a White Collar Crime Task Force helped execute a search warrant at the couple’s New Windsor home as part of the investigation, according to the comptroller's office.
Legal consequences
Under the plea agreements, Raja, Alam and their two companies admitted guilt and are expected to be ordered to pay back the full $3,434,730, with sentencing set for Sept. 9 in Orange County Court, Times Union reports. Raja faces a state prison term that hinges in part on whether the couple makes that $1 million payment before sentencing. Alam, who pleaded to a conspiracy charge, faces a shorter prison term and probation under the plea deal. Prosecutors said both Unique Class Limo Inc. and SNR Limo Inc. also entered guilty pleas, each admitting to the share of the theft linked to its billing.
Why it matters
Officials say schemes like this drain money away from legitimate patient care and expose weak spots in how Medicaid oversees transportation providers. In a statement about the case, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said the defendants "have now been held accountable" and his office has urged state agencies to keep tightening controls to block similar frauds, according to the Office of the New York State Comptroller. The Office of the Medicaid Inspector General noted that investigators leaned heavily on data analysis to flag suspicious billing patterns, a tool authorities say they will keep using to root out provider fraud.
