MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a Floral Park man was arrested yesterday for allegedly stealing more than $54,000 in Medicaid benefits.
Feroz Nazirbage, 46, was arraigned before Judge Maxine Broderick yesterday and charged with Welfare Fraud in the Second Degree (a C felony), Grand Larceny in the Second Degree (a C felony), two counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree (an E felony) and Social Services Law (an A misdemeanor). The defendant was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court on April 29. If convicted of the top count he faces a maximum of five to 15 years in prison.
“This defendant is accused of bilking the Medicaid system by getting free coverage for his family for more than three years,” DA Singas said. “When criminals cheat and steal from Medicaid, they not only steal from the taxpayers, but they steal from the most vulnerable members of our community. I thank the Nassau County Department of Social Services for bringing this case to our attention.”
DA Singas said that between January 2012 and September 2015, the defendant, his wife, and their two children received Medicaid benefits from the Nassau County Department of Social Services (NCDSS). During this time the defendant allegedly filed recertification forms and documentation to NCDSS that indicated he was either unemployed or making no more than $2,800 per month – an amount that would have qualified him for Medicaid benefits.
However, during the years of alleged fraud, the defendant owned and operated a pharmacy in The Bronx and his combined yearly income with his wife ranged from between $163,241.57 to $690,224.38, amounts that made him ineligible for benefits. Because of the false filings, the defendant allegedly received a total of $54,006.00 in Medicaid benefits that covered his family for more than three years.
NCDSS referred the case to the NCDA in September of 2017.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Michelle Sheehan Prior of DA Singas’ Financial Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case. David Storobin, Esq. represents the defendant.
The charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.
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