Attorney General James Announces Arrest and Indictment of Queens Pharmacy Owner for Stealing More Than $31 Million
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced the arrest and indictment of a Queens pharmacy owner for allegedly directing a massive fraud scheme that endangered vulnerable New Yorkers with HIV and stole more than $31 million from Medicaid and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). A years-long investigation by the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) found that Miguel Baron, 62, of Yonkers, allegedly used his two pharmacies in Jackson Heights, Guardiola Pharmacy and Baron Specialty Pharmacy, to pay cash kickbacks to New Yorkers on Medicaid in violation of the law. Many of Baron’s customers either filled their prescriptions for HIV medications at his pharmacies in exchange for kickbacks and received black market medications or sold their prescription medication back to the pharmacies for pennies on the dollar. As a result of Baron’s alleged scheme, vulnerable New Yorkers missed out on lifesaving medication and received medications purchased on the black market with no assurances for their safety. Baron was arrested at LaGuardia Airport as he attempted to board a one-way flight to Toronto, Canada and was charged with crimes including Grand Larceny, Health Care Fraud, and Money Laundering.
In addition to the criminal indictment against Baron and his companies, Attorney General James today filed a civil asset forfeiture action, allowing OAG to seize and place liens on assets and property Baron purchased with the proceeds of his alleged crimes. Baron and his associates allegedly used these funds to purchase luxury properties in Miami, a Mercedes Benz, a Lexus, and tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Miami. The OAG’s civil asset forfeiture action seeks over $95 million in damages.
“Taking advantage of vulnerable New Yorkers to steal tens of millions of dollars from Medicaid is despicable,” said Attorney General James. “Pharmacy owners who exploit patients with medication buyback schemes are putting New Yorkers’ health at serious risk. My office will continue to protect patients, shut down Medicaid fraud schemes, and hold criminals accountable to ensure that our tax dollars are not lining scammers’ pockets.”
From January 1, 2023 to April 29, 2026, Baron and his co-conspirators allegedly encouraged Medicaid recipients to fill their prescriptions at his pharmacies by paying them cash kickbacks, often between $150 and $250. In some cases, Baron’s pharmacies offered to buy back Medicaid recipients’ medications for a few hundred dollars while the pharmacies received thousands of dollars in reimbursement from Medicaid and ADAP. Baron would then allegedly put those repurchased medications back in the pharmacy inventory and disburse them to other unsuspecting customers, allowing him to bill Medicaid and ADAP multiple times for a single prescription. In other cases, Baron would allegedly disburse medications purchased from unlicensed sources while billing Medicaid and ADAP for legitimate HIV medications. In total, Baron allegedly received more than $31 million in reimbursements for expensive HIV medications by illegally submitting false reimbursement claims to Medicaid and ADAP.
Baron’s alleged scheme put vulnerable New Yorkers living with HIV at serious risk by pressuring customers to sell their medications back instead of taking them as directed, and distributing medications from unlicensed sources that lacked any assurance that they were properly stored and maintained.
Baron allegedly sent the money he fraudulently earned from Medicaid and ADAP from his pharmacies’ bank accounts to accounts belonging to shell companies he or his associates controlled in order to disguise the source and ownership of the funds. These shell companies then purchased real estate and funded construction projects with the stolen funds and also converted the money into large sums of cash. Among the real estate purchases were condominiums in the Miami area, including reservations for high-end units in buildings that promised “luxury amenities” and “boundless opulence.”
Architectural renderings of Villa Miami (top) and One Twenty Brickell (bottom) where Baron had purchased units
Baron and his companies were indicted by a Queens County grand jury on two counts of Grand Larceny in the First Degree, fourteen counts of Health Care Fraud in the First Degree, two counts of Health Care Fraud in the Second Degree, and two counts of unlawfully paying kickbacks to Medicaid beneficiaries in violation of the New York Social Services Law. Baron and his companies were also charged with three counts of Money Laundering in the First Degree and one count of Money Laundering in the Second Degree for allegedly conducting financial transactions designed to conceal the source, ownership and origin of the stolen funds.
“Today’s indictment sends a clear message to those who seek to exploit the Medicaid program for personal gain: you will be held fully accountable,” said Acting Medicaid Inspector General Frank Walsh. “We will continue to work closely with Attorney General James and our other partners to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicaid program.”
If convicted on the top count, Baron faces a maximum sentence of eight and one-third to 25 years in prison. These charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
This is the latest in Attorney General James’ nation-leading work to stop Medicaid fraud. In federal fiscal year 2026, New York MFCU obtained over $98 million in recoveries from criminal prosecutions and civil settlements, and 50 arrests in complex fraud prosecutions. In September, Attorney General James announced the arrest of a dentist operating in Queens on charges of stealing $300,000 from Medicaid. In July, Attorney General James announced the takedown of a fraudulent Medicaid clinic in Queens, and the arrest of a former nursing home employee in Rochester on charges of stealing over $150,000 from residents. In June, Attorney General James announced the arrest of a medical supply company owner from Nassau County for stealing $2.5 million from Medicaid. Also in June, Attorney General James announced the arrest of a New York City man on charges of stealing more than $9 million from Medicaid through a network of fraudulent eye clinics.
The OAG thanks its law enforcement partners who contributed to the investigation, including the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations.
This investigation was handled by Detective Stanislav Tabakov under the supervision of Detective Supervisor Dominick DiGennaro and Deputy Chief Ronald Lynch. The audit investigation was conducted by Principal Auditor Investigator Olga Sunitsky and Auditor Investigators Thomas Darcy, Alexandra Jerome and Victor Torres, under the supervision of Regional Chief Auditor Jonathan Romano. Dejan Budimir is the MFCU Chief Auditor.
The criminal case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorneys General Chase Ruddy and Matthew Nevola under the supervision of New York City Deputy Regional Director David Arias and Regional Director Twan Bounds.
The civil action is being litigated by Special Assistant Attorneys General Erika Ithurburn and Lauren Baron of MFCU’s Civil Enforcement Division under the supervision of Deputy Chiefs Diana Elkind, Konrad Payne, and MFCU Civil Enforcement Chief Alee Scott. Investigative support was provided by Legal Support Analysts Natalie Tamblyn and Ava Yassari, under the supervision of Supervising Legal Assistant Alexandra Schmit.
MFCU is led by Deputy Attorney General Amy Held and Assistant Deputy Attorney General Thomas O’Hanlon. MFCU is part of the Division for Criminal Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General José Maldonado and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux.
Reporting Medicaid Provider Fraud: MFCU defends the public by addressing Medicaid provider fraud and protecting nursing home residents from abuse and neglect. If an individual believes they have information about Medicaid provider fraud or about an incident of abuse or neglect of a nursing home resident, they can file a confidential complaint online or call the MFCU hotline at (800) 771-7755. If the situation is an emergency, please call 911.
New York MFCU’s total funding for federal fiscal year (FY) 2026 is $70,793,651. Of that total, 75 percent, or $53,095,240, is awarded under a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $17,698,411 for FY 2026, is funded by New York state.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
