Ulster County Medical Transportation Owner Sentenced to Prison for $1.1 Million Medicaid Fraud

Muhammad W. Khan, 30, operated MAKLIMO LLC, which provided taxi services for Medicaid recipients in Ulster County. Between November 2020 and August 2024, Khan stole $1,103,358 by inflating charges, double-billing the public health program, and paying kickbacks to individuals seeking addiction treatment who needed rides to health facilities, according to authorities.

Pleadings and Charges in Ulster County Court

Khan pleaded guilty in March to one count of grand larceny before Ulster County Judge Bryan Rounds. The plea agreement secured a minimum sentence of two to six years and a maximum of five to 15 years in state prison. The court ultimately handed down a three-to-nine-year prison term and ordered Khan to pay full restitution.

The case originated from a joint investigation conducted by county and state officials. Khan and his father, 69-year-old Mohammad A. Khan who owned Atlas Limo, were originally charged in June 2025. The elder Khan was accused of stealing $111,548 in a separate larceny charge. The younger Khan faced 12 counts of grand larceny, four counts of health care fraud, offering a false instrument for filing, four counts of falsifying business records, and two counts of social services prohibited practices.

“Muhammad Khan falsified bills and bribed patients to deprive the Medicaid program of over a million dollars, taking money that should have rightly been spent on healthcare for New Yorkers,” State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a statement.

Medicaid Transportation Rules and Kickback Scheme

Under Medicaid guidelines, patients are permitted to use transportation services to reach medical appointments and health care centers, with eligible costs billed directly to the program. However, group rides are strictly prohibited without prior authorization, and approved providers are only allowed to bill mileage once per group.

Investigators found that Khan systematically bypassed these regulations by billing the Medicaid program individually for rides that carried multiple passengers, alongside billing for trips that never actually occurred. The operation also utilized financial kickbacks, paying patients—some of whom were struggling with drug addiction—to use MAKLIMO LLC’s service to facilitate the ongoing fraud.

“This huge theft scheme was uncovered, and the perpetrators brought to justice, by the tenacious and collaborative efforts of the investigators and lawyers dedicated to the case,” Ulster County District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji wrote in a statement, expressing gratitude to Comptroller DiNapoli for holding public fraudsters accountable.

A second brother is allegedly facing charges in a separate case prosecuted by the state Office of the Attorney General in Orange County.