Long Island Village Attorney -- and College Trustee -- Indicted on Medicaid Fraud Charges

A Garden City attorney and two Brooklyn three-quarter home operators were indicted on Thursday on charges that they forced their tenants to attend drug rehab programs that the attorney ran in exchange for kickbacks.

Anthony Cornachio, 74, of Garden City, and his programs NRI Group, LLC and Canarsie A.W.A.R.E., Inc., were charged with first-degree grand larceny, second-degree money laundering and a violation of Social Services Law prohibiting the payment of kickbacks related to the provision of services under the state’s Medicaid program. Three-quarter housing operators Yury Baumblit, 66, and Rimma Baumblit, 60, both of Brooklyn, and their company Back on Track Group, Inc., were also indicted under the same charges. Cornachio was additionally indicted on 10 counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing.

Cornachio is a trustee of Nassau Community College, as well as the attorney for the Village of Island Park. His term on the NCC board ends this year.

During the course of this scheme, authorities say, which dates back to at least 2013, Cornachio allegedly paid Back on Track Group, Inc. over $900,000 in illegal kickbacks. As a result, prosecutors allege that Cornachio, through NRI and Canarsie, submitted, and caused to be submitted, at least $1.7 million in false claims for reimbursement to Medicaid. These claims, prosecutors allege, were fraudulent because they resulted from illegal kickbacks and were often medically unnecessary.

“New York’s homeless and substance abuse programs are funded by taxpayers to provide a basic human right and assist those suffering from addiction,” said state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. “Treating vulnerable New Yorkers as pawns to maximize Medicaid reimbursement to generate unjust profits is shocking, and those who steal from Medicaid will be caught and prosecuted.”

Three-quarter homes in New York City are private entities that provide housing to indigent, formerly homeless individuals and those transitioning out of periods of incarceration, and are largely funded from each residents’ monthly housing allowance provided by the New York City Human Resources Administration.

First-degree grand larceny is a felony with a maximum sentence of 25 years in state prison. Second-degree grand larceny and second-degree money laundering are each felonies with a maximum sentence of 15 years. First-degree offering a false instrument for filing and the Social Services Law violations are each felonies with a maximum sentence of four years.

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