Levittown Man Charged with Grand Larceny, Welfare Fraud

Gul Ahmed, 38, of Levittown was arrested May 18 and charged with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Welfare Fraud in the Second Degree and three counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced Thursday. 

Ahmed stole more than $107,000 in undeserved Medicaid benefits between July 2002 and October 2009, Rice said. Ahmed claimed that his income was between $375 and $600 per week, when in reality he deposited more than $756,000 into his personal bank account during that time.

Ahmed is one of eight people from Long Island and Queens who were charged recently in a sweep by the District Attorney's Public Assistance Fraud Unit, the Nassau County Department of Social Services and the Health and Human Services Medicaid Investigations Unit. Those arrested are charged with collectively stealing more than $297,000 in undeserved Medicaid and public assistance benefits. 

“The burden on every honest taxpayer weighs heavier when people abuse government assistance programs,” Rice said. “My office will continue to work with our partners in state and local government to find, arrest, and convict those who steal from a healthcare system designed to protect the most vulnerable members of our society.”

Medicaid provides free public health insurance to more than 40 million low-income individuals throughout the country, and it is funded by federal, state and county governments. Restitution from fraud cases is returned to the funding agencies, with approximately 25 percent going to the state and another 25 percent going to the local county.

If convicted, Ahmed faces up to 15 years in prison. He is due back in court July 21 and is represented by Kerry Katsorhis, Esq.