Zakia Khan, a 55-year-old woman, was sentenced in federal court by U.S. District Judge Natasha C. Merle to 76 months in prison for her leadership role in a health care fraud and kickback scheme.
Khan pleaded guilty in August 2025 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay health care kickbacks.
Court documents detail that Khan owned two social adult day care centers in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn: Happy Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc. and Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc.
She also owned a home health care fiscal intermediary, Responsible Care Staffing Inc., and Tanwee Services Inc., an entity used to receive and disguise fraud proceeds.
Between approximately October 2017 and July 2024, Khan and a network of co-conspirators used marketers to refer Medicaid recipients to her day care centers in exchange for kickbacks and bribes.
Participants received cash payments to sign up for services and sign false attendance sheets for services that were never provided.
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During this period, Happy Family and Family Social fraudulently billed Medicaid approximately $64 million, resulting in payouts of approximately $56 million.
The conspirators used multiple business entities to launder the proceeds and generate cash used to pay bribes.
Along with the 76-month prison sentence, Judge Merle ordered Khan to pay more than $56 million in restitution and forfeit $5 million in fraud proceeds. The forfeiture includes cash, two properties and gold jewelry seized during a search of her home.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations New York and the New York City Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
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“Today’s sentencing sends a strong message of deterrence in our District,” U.S. Attorney Nocella said in a statement. “Our Office and the Justice Department are focused on protecting American taxpayers from fraudsters and as such, we will vigorously prosecute corrupt health care owners and operators in our district.”
Operating under a directive to target crimes against the public, the Department of Justice launched the National Fraud Enforcement Division on April 7.
The specialized unit supports federal efforts aligned with the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a comprehensive initiative led by Vice President JD Vance to combat waste, abuse and fraudulent practices within government benefit programs.