Farmingdale Couple Among 9 Charged in Welfare Fraud

A Farmingdale couple were among nine people charged with stealing more than $282,000 in bogus

Heng Ping Lin, 44, and Hui Lan Chen Lin, 46, of Farmingdale, face felony charges of  grand larceny, welfare fraud and filing falsified documents.

Between July 2004 and March 2010, the defendants stole more than $65,000 in undeserved Medicaid benefits by claiming on paperwork to only earn $14,000 and $30,000 annually, the D.A.'s office said. The defendants did not disclose annual deposits into personal bank accounts of between $65,000 and $180,000, as well as the ownership of two houses.

Both face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Seven other Nassau residents face similar charges.

Nassau County District Attorney said the sweep was the result of joint investigations by the D.A’s Public Assistance Fraud Unit and the Nassau County Department of Social Services Special Investigations Unit.

Since 2007, the District Attorney’s Office has uncovered more than $3.4 million in stolen benefits and returned more than $2.1 million to the taxpayer, Rice said.

“Medicaid is designed to provide much-needed healthcare to our society’s most vulnerable members, not to criminals who think nothing of placing their financial burdens on the backs of the taxpayer,” said Rice, adding her office "will continue to find and arrest the scam artists who plague these essential programs."

Medicaid provides free public health insurance to more than 40 million low-income individuals nationwide. It is funded jointly by federal, state, and county governments.