Buffalo Man Sentenced for Health Care Fraud in Medicaid Transportation Scheme

A Buffalo business owner has been sentenced to three years of supervised release, including 12 months of home incarceration, after being convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo handed down the sentence to 30-year-old Arkan Fadhel, owner of Queen City Transportation, Inc., which has provided non-emergency Medicaid transportation services since 2018. In addition to the supervised release and home confinement, Fadhel was ordered to perform 400 hours of community service. He must also forfeit $781,186.80 and pay $250,000 in restitution.

According to federal prosecutors, Fadhel submitted fraudulent claims to Medical Answering Service, a company managing Medicaid transportation. Between August 2018 and December 2020, he reported rides that never took place and falsely billed group rides as separate individual trips. The scheme resulted in a financial loss exceeding $250,000 to Medicaid.

Before starting Queen City Transportation, Fadhel worked as a driver for Great Lakes Transportation, another non-emergency Medicaid transportation provider.

The case was investigated by the Western New York Health Care Fraud Task Force, which includes the FBI, the New York State Department of Financial Services, the New York State Police, and the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.