Monroe residents convicted on Medicaid theft charges

On October 22, NYS Attorney General Letitia James announced that the owners of DYD Universe, Inc. (DYD), a New York Medicaid-enrolled transportation company, pled guilty for their roles in a scheme that stole more than $2.1 million from Medicaid and paid illegal kickbacks to Medicaid recipients. Damir Yuldashev, 64, his son Daler Yuldashev, 38, and Daler’s mother Nigina Iskandarova, 60, all of Monroe admitted that from April 2018 to March 2023, they stole more than $2.1 million from Medicaid by submitting fraudulent claims for services that they, per James’ announcement, “knowingly did not provide and toll charges that they knew were not incurred.”

The owners also admitted to paying illegal kickbacks to Medicaid recipients in exchange for confidential Medicaid identification data, which was allegedly used to carry out the scheme.

“Stealing taxpayer funds that are meant to provide health care for low-income New Yorkers is unacceptable,” said James. “Instead of providing vulnerable patients with the transportation services they needed to get them to their appointments, these individuals exploited Medicaid recipients to carry out their fraud. I will not tolerate schemes like these that damage our health care system, and my office will continue to go after fraudsters who steal from Medicaid.”

James went on to explain the scheme: Medicaid recipients without access to personal transportation can use approved transportation providers to travel to and from covered medical services. The providers are then reimbursed by Medicaid for the rides they provide. From April 2018 to March 2023, Daler and Damir Yuldashev allegedly billed Medicaid for fake trips plus fake tolls ranging from $15 to up to $50 to inflate their reimbursement amounts, allowing them to illegally overcharge Medicaid by more than $2.1 million.

They also allegedly paid Medicaid recipients to sign up with DYD and use fake addresses or drive themselves to their appointments, allowing DYD to either inflate or submit false claims for transportation to Medicaid. “These payments were illegal and undermined the businesses of other transportation providers in the Hudson Valley,” James’ announcement stated, adding “some passengers were paid thousands of dollars each to take rides that allowed DYD to collect tens of thousands of dollars in fees per passenger.”

All three defendants pleaded guilty in Orange County Court in front of Judge Richard Guertin. Damir Yuldashev pled guilty to grand larceny in the first degree, a class B felony. Daler Yuldashev pled guilty to grand larceny in the third degree, a class D felony. Nigina Iskandarova pled guilty to violating New York’s anti-kickback statute, Social Services Law section 366-d, a class E felony. DYD also pled guilty to grand larceny in the first degree.

According to James, Damir Yuldashev faces two to six years in state prison. Daler Yuldashev and Nigina Iskandarova will be sentenced to probation, with Daler Yuldashev required to perform at least 1,200 hours of community service. Damir and Daler Yuldashev must also pay $2,127,624 to Medicaid in restitution for their crimes. If they fail to pay restitution, they will be required to serve additional time in state prison. Plus, each defendant is also permanently excluded from being a provider in all government-funded health programs, including Medicaid and Medicare.