The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit in federal court to stop an alleged Medicaid fraud scheme tied to New York’s CDPAP home-care program. DOJ claims the scheme involved a purported sham bidding process that misused Medicaid funding, harmed patients, and cost taxpayers millions.

The Justice Department announced it filed suit seeking to stop an ongoing alleged Medicaid fraud scheme connected to New York’s CDPAP home-care program, a program the government describes as worth $10 billion. DOJ alleges the fraud centered on a purported “sham bid” process used to obtain or maintain arrangements that directed Medicaid funds while, according to the government, failing to reflect legitimate contracting practices. In DOJ’s account, the arrangement led to taxpayer losses running into millions of dollars and also left Medicaid patients harmed by what the complaint characterizes as unchecked misuse of public funds. The case is framed as civil enforcement meant to halt the alleged conduct and to address the financial impact on federal and state health benefit systems. For consumers and providers, the allegations highlight a common scam pattern in government-health ecosystems: manipulating procurement or contracting processes to steer public money, while downstream victims are patients who may not receive appropriate services. The case also underscores that Medicaid enforcement can expand beyond direct billing fraud into referral, contracting, and bid-related schemes.