Thread: 4 N.Y. couples busted in alleged Medicaid fraud scheme

Four SI couples busted in alleged Medicaid fraud scheme

By DOUG AUER
Last Updated: 2:29 PM, October 27, 2011
Posted: 2:29 PM, October 27, 2011

They wallowed in the lap of luxury, but allegedly accepted handouts.

Four couples from Staten Island have been busted for defrauding Medicaid out of tens of thousands of dollars in benefits – even though they resided in million-dollar homes, owned real estate and drove around in high-end cars and SUVs, authorities announced today.

In the most blatant abuse of the system, Hanna Youssef, 61 and Zaka Youssef, 55, received more than $40,000 in Medicaid benefits since 2008, authorities allege.

However, an investigation uncovered that the couple has a gated home atop pricey Todt Hill worth $1.4 million; they own a strip mall on 350 Forest Ave. in West Brighton that nets more than $14,000 in monthly rent; and they recently sold a restaurant in Brooklyn for $700,000, authorities said.

Another couple -- Hany Mekhael, 41 and Jackline Farag, 37 -- owns four properties on Staten Island and a physical therapy business in Brooklyn, real estate assets valued at more than $2.1 million, but they fraudulently received $36,600 in Medicaid benefits since 2006, authorities claim.

The couple allegedly raked in the benefits while reporting an annual income of up to $174,000 per year.

A third couple, Richard Costa, 53 and Carrie Costa, 50, allegedly claimed they made a measly $400 week as day laborers on their 2008 application for Medicaid.

But, a year earlier they had allegedly purchased a $1 million home in Tottenville with a $360,000 down payment, authorities said.

And, he and his wife allegedly wheel around in two Mercedes-Benz sedans.

On the lease applications, Costa jotted down that he pulls down $250,000 a year as vice president of a Manhattan garment district company, authorities added.

The fourth couple ensnared in the bust was Kathleen Trabulsi, 33 and Rashad Trabulsi, 34, who allegedly had Medicaid shell out $30,000 in healthcare expenses since 2008.

Yet, the Trabulsis run a lucrative chiropractic clinic in Brooklyn, rest their heads inside a half-million dollar home on Dellwood Road in Old Town and a own rental property in Brooklyn, authorities allege.

They also drive top-end rides, including a Hummer, an Infiniti and an Audi, authorities claim.

The eight defendants are charged with welfare fraud, grand larceny and falsifying business records, said a spokesman for DA Daniel Donovan.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/stat ... z1c0tLa4eF

More greedy rich people?