What looked like everyday neighborhood eye-care shops across Brooklyn and Manhattan are now at the center of what prosecutors say was a multimillion-dollar Medicaid hustle.
Maksim Grinberg, 53, was arrested and indicted Tuesday after state investigators said he stole more than $9 million from New York’s Medicaid program by billing for eye surgeries that never happened. Prosecutors allege he ran a network of storefront clinics under the EyePic name and used them to submit bogus claims for procedures that were never performed. Grinberg was arraigned in Kings County Supreme Court and faces multiple felony counts that together could add up to decades behind bars if he is convicted.
My office and @NYSComptroller are announcing the arrest of Maksim Grinberg for stealing over $9 million from Medicaid by operating fraudulent eye care clinics. I'll always hold bad actors accountable for taking funds meant to support our state's most vulnerable residents.
— Letitia James (@newyorkstateag) June 24, 2026
Investigation details
According to a press release from the Office of the New York State Attorney General, the OAG’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Office of the New York State Comptroller concluded that Grinberg used credentials from ophthalmologists who had previously been affiliated with his businesses to submit thousands of false claims between January 1, 2024 and July 31, 2025.
Those claims, prosecutors say, reported eyelid-lining surgeries that never took place and were sent to Fidelis Care New York, Healthfirst PHSP and Molina Healthcare of New York. The indictment lists eight companies that investigators say operated under the EyePic brand as part of the alleged scheme.
Officials respond
Attorney General Letitia James announced the arrest on X, writing that her office and the state comptroller were moving on the case and that she would "always hold bad actors accountable for taking funds meant to support our state's most vulnerable residents." Letitia James's post on X mirrored the office's written statement and cast the case as another step in a wider crackdown on Medicaid fraud.
Past run-ins
This is not Grinberg's first time under a prosecutor's microscope. Local reporting previously documented a 2015 indictment tied to an alleged $3.4 million loan-fraud scheme involving Park Slope optical stores. Prosecutors now point to that earlier matter and later restitution obligations as context for their claim that some Medicaid money was allegedly diverted to cover prior legal obligations and bankroll a lavish lifestyle. Gothamist covered the earlier indictment.
Where the clinics posed as providers
The businesses presented themselves as neighborhood eye-care clinics across Brooklyn and Harlem, blending into busy commercial strips. Eyepic's locations page lists storefronts in Park Slope, Graham Avenue, Flatbush and Harlem, the same operations identified in the indictment. Investigators say those clinics were used to bill managed-care plans for surgeries that, according to prosecutors, never occurred at all.
For patients walking in off the street, the shops functioned like standard optical businesses, offering eye exams and eyewear while, prosecutors allege, a far more lucrative billing operation was running behind the scenes.
Bigger enforcement push
Grinberg's arrest lands in the middle of a broader federal and state push on health-care billing fraud. Earlier this week, the Department of Justice rolled out a national health-care fraud takedown that charged hundreds of defendants in schemes involving billions of dollars, a signal that prosecutors are paying close attention to questionable billing across the industry. State officials have been active too. The Colorado Attorney General announced settlements this year after alleging Medicaid billing violations at eye clinics, underscoring that eye-care providers in particular have drawn scrutiny. Recent Department of Justice reporting and a Colorado Attorney General press release highlight that broader pattern.
Charges and next steps
Prosecutors charged Grinberg and his companies with 15 crimes, including Grand Larceny in the First Degree, Health Care Fraud in the First Degree, Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree. They allege that proceeds from the scheme were spent on a New Jersey mansion, luxury vehicles and high-end jewelry.
Grinberg was arraigned before Judge Danny Chun in Kings County Supreme Court and, according to prosecutors, faces a top count that carries a potential sentence of eight and one-third to 25 years in prison. These remain allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Details of the charges and the investigation appear in the Office of the New York State Attorney General release.
