A New Windsor couple is accused of stealing over $2.9 million from New York State by submitting fake Medicaid transportation claims over a four-year period.
On Thursday, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced the arrests of Rohail Raja and his wife, Sharma Alam, both 45 years old. Following an inquiry into false billing by their Medicaid transportation companies, the pair was charged with grand larceny in the first degree.
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Prosecutors allege that between February 2020 and August 2024, Raja and Alam made false claims through two businesses they operated that were allowed to transport Medicaid recipients. According to the criminal complaint, the pair falsely billed the state for excursions that never occurred and inflated payments by claiming to have transported patients separately when they were actually driven together.
According to a Comptroller’s Office audit, the New York State Department of Health paid the defendants more than $2 million for nonexistent travels and another $895,000 through duplicate billing methods.
The arrests were made following a joint investigation by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, State Comptroller’s Office, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the Orange County White Collar Crimes Taskforce, which was assisted by the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General and the Hudson Valley Crime Analysis Center.
Raja and Alam were both arraigned in Orange County and ordered to jail in lieu of $1 million cash bail, a $5 million partially secured bond, or a $10 million unsecured bond. They are set to appear in New Windsor Justice Court on November 5, 2025.
District Attorney Hoovler referred to the case as “the largest Medicaid fraud scheme ever prosecuted” by his office. Hoovler explained,
This is the largest Medicaid fraud scheme ever prosecuted by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. I am grateful to Comptroller DiNapoli and his staff for partnering with the District Attorney’s Office and the Orange County White Collar Crimes Taskforce on this important investigation. The work of the investigators and auditors of the Office of State Comptroller was crucial to this investigation. I also thank Sheriff Arteta for continuing to partner with my office, and the other members of the White Collar Taskforce for their dedication to investigate complex financial crimes.
Comptroller DiNapoli added:
These defendants allegedly systematically schemed to steal nearly 3 million dollars in much needed funds for the health care of deserving New Yorkers. Thanks to my partnership with District Attorney Hoovler they are now being held accountable. My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners across the state to fight Medicaid fraud and abuse and protect our Medicaid system.
Orange County Sheriff Paul Arteta also welcomed the probe, citing it as an example of how coordination through the White Collar Crime Task Force guarantees that individuals “taking advantage of public funding” face consequences.
Assistant District Attorney Amanda Bettinelli and Chief Assistant District Attorney Christopher P. Borek are handling the prosecution of the case.
Officials stressed that the charges are allegations, and that both individuals are deemed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
