Criminal Penalties for Medicaid Fraud in New York

The criminal penalties for Medicaid fraud are severe.  The penalties include restitution and fines, loss of professional licenses, and exclusion from the Medicaid program.  

If you are convicted of a misdemeanor, you can be sentenced to up to one year in jail.  If you are convicted of a felony, the most serious cases can result in a sentence of  up to 25 years in prison.  And if you are not a U.S. citizen, you may be deported.

What will happen in your case?

The answer depends on how you respond to the investigators, how strong the evidence is against you, whether you have been convicted of a crime in the past, and a number of other factors.  

You need to sit down with an experienced Medicaid fraud defense lawyer immediately to assess your case and develop a strategy.

Medicaid fraud cases generally fall into two categories.  Some cases can be defended.  The evidence may be weak or ambiguous, and you may have legitimate explanations for what happened.  

If the evidence against you is weak and you have strong defenses, your lawyer should make every effort to challenge the government.  With thorough preparation, and by engaging with investigators early in the process, your lawyer may be able to convince them to drop the case completely or to resolve it with a monetary settlement.

In other cases, the evidence against you may be strong and you may have no real defense.  Even in those cases, an experienced Medicaid fraud lawyer can take action to minimize or reduce the criminal charges.  Some cases that begin with felony charges and the possibility of a prison sentence can be resolved with a misdemeanor plea and no jail time.  In some cases, we have been able to negotiate plea agreements that avoid criminal charges and a criminal record altogether. 

The key is getting an experienced Medicaid fraud lawyer involved at the earliest possible moment.  Medicaid fraud prosecutions are like a cancer.  Early intervention is critical to a successful outcome.

To schedule a free and confidential consultation with an experienced Medicaid fraud defense lawyer, call John Howley, Esq. at (212) 601-2728.