FBI raids adult daycare centers across NYC in healthcare fraud sweep

Federal agents fanned out across New York City on Tuesday, executing criminal search warrants at adult daycare centers in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island as part of a monthslong investigation into healthcare fraud.

On Tuesday morning, boxes were removed by agents from an adult daycare center located on Eighth Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. A second Brooklyn location on Fort Hamilton Parkway in Borough Park was also searched, as was a facility in Flushing, Queens. The FBI confirmed centers on Staten Island were included in the searches as well. Footage recorded at the Borough Park site showed a minimum of eight law enforcement officers, several of them in jackets bearing the name of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a division of the Department of Homeland Security.

FBI New York, along with multiple other law enforcement agencies are conducting law enforcement activity in the area of Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and other locations around New York City in connection with ongoing federal investigations.— FBI spokesperson

Federal law enforcement sources told CBS News the warrants are tied to alleged healthcare fraud. Governor Hochul offered the most specific public accounting of what investigators believe happened.

We're targeting providers who we believe engaged in illegal activity, ranging from money laundering, to kickbacks, to improper billing.— Gov. Kathy Hochul

Hochul said she traveled to Washington, D.C. herself to meet with federal officials about Medicaid fraud, underscoring the state's involvement in building the case. Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid, said he had personally toured the locations at some point earlier in the year.

It was the largest enforcement action of its kind. You'll hear more about it later in the week.— Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator, U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid

No arrests or charges have been publicly announced. When CBS News reached the Borough Park location by phone, the person who answered declined to comment; the other named locations did not respond to calls.

The raids land against a backdrop of striking Medicaid spending figures. A CBS News data analysis conducted over the summer found that Medicaid paid adult daycare providers $3.35 billion nationwide in 2024, with New York state facilities receiving 17% of that total — more than any other state. A video message posted to social media by the FBI on Tuesday afternoon cited an internal audit showing that Medicaid spending per enrollee in New York ran 40% to 60% above the national average from 2019 through 2024. The FBI is asking the public to submit tips on suspected fraud.

It's usually an enterprise involving several individuals. You want to get the gist of the method of the operation, you know, who's involved, the vendors, the providers, the patients, real or bogus.— David Shapiro, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

It is what we used to call paper-intensive.— David Shapiro, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Oz's promise of more details later in the week means the full scope of targets, charges, and any arrests is still to come — making Tuesday's visible sweep the opening act of what federal officials are signaling will be a significant public accounting.

Why it matters — The raids signal a major federal push to claw back potentially billions in fraudulent Medicaid spending at adult daycare centers, with New York — the top recipient of such funds — squarely in the crosshairs.

Reported by vinnews.com, cbsnews.com