On 15th June, New York Police arrested Pakistani-American pharma businessman, Pervez Siddiqui. The 78-year-old has been arrested for involvement in a massive $38 million Medicaid fraud scheme via two Brooklyn social adult day care centres, APNA Adult Daycare, and Ashiana Social Adult Daycare.
The fraud scheme began in 2019, with Pervez Siddiqui and other co-accused bribing poor and elderly people, though not in need of daycare, into signing up for the two-daycare. These enrollees received $500 each per month. Although the enrollees never attended daycare, the two centres used to submit Medicaid claims.
The accused used fake sign-in sheets and used Pakistan-based billing staff. They laundered proceeds via shell companies and showed payments as ‘gifts’, ‘dividends’, or even ‘laddoos’.
Pervez Siddiqui, Shazia Bibi, Zebun Ahmed, Josna Begum, Saira Khatoon, and Atia Shahnaz, all Pakistanis, have been named as accused in the case.
Meanwhile, Pervez Siddiqui’s political connections have gained attention. Siddiqui frequently donated to Democratic candidates and gained access to top Democrats through the American Pakistani Public Affairs Committee (APPAC). The APPAC has a track record of pushing Pakistani narratives in the US, and peddling anti-India propaganda.
