Feds investigate multiple adult daycare centers across NYC, officials say
Federal agents were out across New York City Tuesday investigating multiple adult daycare centers.
The White House and Gov. Kathy Hochul say it's part of a joint investigation into healthcare fraud.
Tuesday morning, federal agents carried boxes outside of an adult daycare center on Eighth Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Federal law enforcement sources confirmed the massive presence was related to ongoing investigations into healthcare fraud.
Agents also took enforcement action at an adult daycare center on Fort Hamilton Parkway in Borough Park, and in Flushing. The FBI said centers on Staten Island were part of the searches, too.
"We're targeting providers who we believe engaged in illegal activity, ranging from money laundering, to kickbacks, to improper billing," Hochul said.
Hochul said it was a monthslong investigation and that she went to Washington, D.C. herself to meet with the feds about Medicaid fraud.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid, said he visited the locations earlier in the year.
"It was the largest enforcement action of its kind. You'll hear more about it later in the week," Oz said.
A person who answered the phone at the Borough Park location said he had no comment. Calls to the other two locations named by law enforcement sources were not returned.
"It's usually an enterprise involving several individuals," said David Shapiro of John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "You want to get the gist of the method of the operation, you know, who's involved, the vendors, the providers, the patients, real or bogus."
"It is what we used to call paper-intensive," he added.
Over the summer, a CBS News data analysis found Medicaid paid adult daycare providers $3.35 billion nationwide in 2024, and 17% of that money went to New York state facilities - more than any other state.
Tuesday afternoon, the FBI released a video message on social media indicating an audit found that between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid spent more per enrollee in New York than the national average, with costs 40% to 60% higher. The FBI wants the public to send in tips of suspected fraud.
