I am a Medicaid beneficiary. I am a taxpayer. And I was robbed — not quietly, not accidentally — but systematically and greedily by criminals who treated public welfare like a personal ATM.
For years, people like Manal Wasef and Elaine Antao stole money meant for the elderly, the disabled, and families struggling to survive. They didn’t care who depended on that money. They cared only about profit.
From October 2017 through July 2024, Manal Wasef and Elaine Antao, both 46, worked as so-called “marketers” and “recruiters” for Happy Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc., Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc., and Responsible Care Staffing Inc. What they were really doing was running a massive Medicaid scam.
They bribed Medicaid recipients — people like me — with illegal kickbacks and cash. They promised services. They promised care. Then they billed Medicaid anyway, even when no services were ever provided. Every fake bill was money stolen directly from public health funds meant to protect the most vulnerable.
To keep the scam alive, Wasef and Antao laundered the stolen money through multiple business entities, converting fraud into clean-looking cash so they could continue paying bribes and hiding their crimes.
By the time authorities stepped in, more than $68 million had been ripped out of the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) — a program designed to help elderly and disabled people receive care from family and trusted individuals. That money was never theirs to take.
Federal prosecutors confirmed what victims already knew: these were not mistakes. These were crimes. As Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva stated, the defendants deliberately bribed patients with laundered cash and billed Medicaid for services that never existed.
Manal Wasef and Elaine Antao were not alone. They were part of a larger criminal network that included Zakia Khan, Ahsan Ijaz, Oasmneah Hamdi, Ansir Abassi, and Amran Hashmi. Eight people were charged. One by one, the truth is catching up with them.
When Wasef and Antao finally pleaded guilty, they agreed to repay about $1 million — a fraction of the damage they caused. They now face up to 10 years in federal prison, with sentencing scheduled for May 27 and May 20 respectively.
As a victim, the message is clear: these scammers placed greed over human lives. They drained welfare funds meant for care, dignity, and survival. And while justice is finally knocking on their door, the harm they caused to vulnerable Americans and taxpayers like me can never be fully undone.
This wasn’t just fraud.
This was betrayal.