Policy & oversight
Queens Adult Day Care Director Pleads Guilty in 127-Million-Dollar Medicare and Medicaid Fraud
The director of two Flushing, New York centers admitted to billing government health programs for care that was never given, over roughly ten years, through kickbacks and fabricated claims.
By the Goodsurance editorial teamNovember 13, 2026
The director of two social adult day care centers in Flushing, Queens pleaded guilty on November 10, 2026 to a scheme that defrauded Medicare and New York State Medicaid of approximately 127 million dollars over roughly ten years, the Department of Justice announced.
Daniel Lee, 57, of Flushing, served as program director at Happy Life Inc. and at the Royal Adult Day Care Center, operating under Z&W Empire Enterprise, Inc. The two centers billed Medicaid for adult day care services that were never provided. In some instances, claims were submitted for days when the recipients were hospitalized and could not have attended. A related pharmacy tied to the same scheme billed Medicare for prescription drugs deemed medically unnecessary.
A Queens adult day care director admitted to a 127-million-dollar Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme, billing for services never given over roughly a decade.
To generate fraudulent claims, Lee and co-conspirators paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to both Medicaid recipients and Medicare beneficiaries to induce them to enroll with the businesses. During a law enforcement search, investigators recovered more than 100,000 dollars in cash and seized approximately 900,000 dollars in fraud proceeds from bank accounts.
Lee pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 2, 2027.
The case was investigated by the Department of Justice alongside the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and is part of ongoing federal efforts to combat fraud in Medicare and Medicaid.
In plain words
A man who ran two adult day care centers in Queens, New York admitted he stole about 127 million dollars from Medicare and Medicaid. His centers were supposed to give daily care to seniors and people with disabilities. Instead, he charged the government for services that were never given. Sometimes he even sent in bills for days when patients were in the hospital. He also paid people money to sign up at his centers and pharmacy. Then he billed Medicare for drugs those people did not need. Police took about 900,000 dollars from his bank accounts. He pleaded guilty in court and could go to prison for up to 30 years.
Understand the basics first
Source: DOJ
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