Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced this week the arrest of attorney Anthony Cornachio of Garden City and charges against NRI Group, LLC and Canarsie A.W.A.R.E., Inc., which are Medicaid-enrolled drug treatment programs controlled by Cornachio.
The A.G.’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit also charged three-quarter housing operators Yury Baumblit, 66, and Rimma Baumblit, 60, of Brooklyn, and their company Back on Track Group, Inc. In papers filed in New York City Criminal Court, Kings County and New York State Supreme Court, Kings County, prosecutors allege that Yury and Rimma in exchange for payments from Cornachio’s companies, forced residents of their “three-quarter” homes to either face eviction or attend NRI and Canarsie regardless of the residents’ actual need for drug treatment services.
All of the residences leased by Back on Track Group, Inc. and operated by Yury and Rimma as “three-quarter” homes were located in Brooklyn. Three-quarter homes in New York City are private entities that provide housing to indigent, formerly homeless individuals and those transitioning out of periods of incarceration, and are largely funded from each resident’s monthly housing allowance provided by the New York City Human Resources Administration.
During the course of the scheme, which dates back to at least 2013, Cornachio allegedly paid Back on Track Group, Inc. more than $900,000 in illegal kickbacks. As a result of this kickback scheme, prosecutors allege that Cornachio, through NRI and Canarsie, submitted, and caused to be submitted, at least $1.7 million in false claims for reimbursement to Medicaid.
Cornachio is currently the village attorney for the Village of Island Park, Long Island, and a trustee of Nassau Community College.
“We allege that the defendants engaged in a deliberate scheme to exploit those struggling with substance abuse in order to line their own pockets with millions,” said Schneiderman. “Medicaid cannot serve as a personal piggy bank for criminals and fraudsters who have little regard for the well-being of their fellow New Yorkers. My office will continue to uphold the integrity of the Medicaid program to ensure that our tax dollars are put towards helping our most vulnerable citizens.”
Earlier this year, Yury and Rimma were indicted for a kickback arrangement they maintained with a different substance abuse treatment program. That indictment, which is currently pending in Kings County Supreme Court, charges the two with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and other crimes; they remain incarcerated awaiting trial on that matter.
“Yury and Rimma Baumblit allegedly forced their residents to attend treatment for drug services they may not have necessarily needed or threatened them with eviction if they didn’t comply,” said Brooklyn Councilmember Jumaane Williams. “This is a serious abuse of power, and one that I am glad is being given the attention it deserves from authorities.”
Williams added that in the past, criminal arrests for these types of crimes have taken too long.