For years, Pervez Siddiqui cultivated a reputation as a prominent businessman, civic leader, and politically connected figure within New York’s Pakistani-American community. Now, federal prosecutors allege he was at the center of a sprawling Medicaid fraud scheme that siphoned tens of millions of dollars from taxpayers.
Siddiqui, 78, was arrested Monday alongside seven alleged co-conspirators in connection with what authorities describe as a $38 million Medicaid kickback operation involving two Brooklyn social adult day care centers: APNA Adult Daycare and Ashiana Social Adult Daycare.
According to a federal indictment, the scheme operated from 2019 through December 2025 and relied on enrolling Medicaid recipients in day care programs they rarely or never attended. Prosecutors allege participants received cash payments in exchange for allowing their Medicaid information to be used while the facilities submitted claims for services that were never provided.
Federal investigators say the operation involved a network of recruiters who targeted Medicaid recipients throughout New York City.
“Marketers are going around looking for the Medicaid card,” a source familiar with the investigation told The New York Post. “They stop people on the street, at bus stops. They go into doctors’ offices. They go into NYCHA where they know people are low-income.”
The indictment names Siddiqui along with Shazia Bibi, Abdul Aziz, Shair Ali, and several recruiters. Prosecutors allege the group paid kickbacks directly to Medicaid recipients and compensated recruiters for steering enrollees into the programs.
Authorities claim the defendants then submitted approximately $38 million in fraudulent Medicaid claims.
To conceal the alleged fraud, prosecutors say participants created falsified attendance records, including sign-in sheets that showed more people attending than the facilities could legally accommodate. Investigators also allege billing operations were handled through staff based in Pakistan and that proceeds were routed through shell companies using misleading labels such as “gifts,” “dividends,” “medicine,” and even “laddu,” a traditional South Asian sweet.
The indictment further alleges that after federal search warrants were executed in December 2025, several defendants attempted to obstruct the investigation by instructing employees to obtain new phones and delete existing data.
One particularly striking allegation involves recipients who were reportedly no longer living in the United States.
According to sources cited by investigators, some enrolled individuals had moved overseas while Medicaid claims and kickback payments continued.
“The patient is in Pakistan, they’re in Morocco. They’re not even in this country,” one source alleged.
The case has drawn additional attention because of Siddiqui’s extensive political connections.
A longtime donor to Democratic candidates and organizations, Siddiqui reportedly contributed thousands of dollars to local campaigns and political groups over the years. Through his involvement with the American Pakistani Public Affairs Committee, he gained access to prominent Democratic figures, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
Photographs obtained by The New York Post reportedly show Siddiqui attending a private meeting with Mamdani in December 2025. The report notes that neither Mamdani nor several other political figures mentioned have been accused of wrongdoing in connection with the case.
The investigation also highlights broader concerns surrounding New York’s Medicaid system and the oversight of social adult day care programs. Similar fraud cases have surfaced repeatedly in recent years.
Last year, federal authorities uncovered a separate $68 million Medicaid fraud operation involving Brooklyn day care centers. Earlier this year, two Queens men were charged in an alleged $120 million Medicaid scheme involving facilities in Flushing.
Critics argue that weak oversight and enormous financial incentives have made the sector vulnerable to abuse.
New York already spends more per Medicaid enrollee than any other state, according to available data, making fraud allegations particularly sensitive as taxpayers continue to shoulder rising healthcare costs.
The indictment does not accuse APNA Community Services, a related nonprofit organization, of wrongdoing. Nor does it implicate several individuals connected to the nonprofit who have publicly interacted with elected officials. Some have stated they were not involved in the day care operations and had no knowledge of the alleged scheme.
Federal authorities have declined to provide additional details while the investigation remains ongoing.
