NEW YORK (WABC) — Federal agents are searching several businesses suspected in being involved in Medicaid fraud.
At one location in Borough Park, Brooklyn on Tuesday, investigators appeared to be in the Happy Adult Day Care Center on Fort Hamilton Parkway.
Eyewitness News is told that search warrants are also being executed at businesses in Queens and Staten Island.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said there is an investigation into “suspected fraud in social adult day care programs.”
“We are targeting providers who we believe engaged in illegal activity, ranging from money laundering to kickbacks, to improper billing and other fraudulent activities,” she said.
The FBI issued the following statement:
“FBI New York, along with multiple other law enforcement agencies are conducting law enforcement activity in the area of Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and other locations around New York City in…
Identity theft is the “foundational” fraud upon which many other crimes are built. It involves the unauthorized acquisition and use of a person’s personal identifying information (PII), such as an ID number, Social Security number, or passport details.
- How it works: Fraudsters obtain PII through data breaches, mail theft, or “social engineering” (tricking people into revealing details). Once they have this data, they can open new bank accounts, apply for credit cards or loans, and even receive medical treatment under your name.
- Synthetic Identity Fraud: A sophisticated variation where criminals combine real and fabricated information to create a completely new, “synthetic” person. This is particularly difficult to detect because there is no single victim to report the suspicious activity initially.