A Colorado resident was charged with trying to steal hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars by billing the state’s Medicaid program for transporting a patient to doctor’s appointments — rides that would have taken place after that person had already died. A new report by the House Energy and Commerce Committee revealed that taxpayer-funded healthcare programs, specifically Medicare and Medicaid, are rife with vulnerabilities that allow them to be exploited on the local, state and federal levels. "Medicare and Medicaid fraud occurs nationwide and costs American taxpayers billions of dollars a year.
Fraud is prevalent in all sectors of health care and is especially egregious in taxpayer-funded health care programs that are intended to serve vulnerable populations, including the elderly, disabled, children, and pregnant women," the report said. "Patients are suffering from identity theft, long waiting lists, substandard health care, and, in some cases, a lack of health care services due to fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid." Fox News Digital highlighted some of the most egregious examples below. BOMBSHELL REPORT EXPOSES HEALTHCARE FRAUD SCHEMES AS TAXPAYERS LOSE UP TO $521 BILLION ANNUALLY Wesam Yassin was one of two providers of non-emergency medical transportation, a Medicaid benefit for helping patients get to doctor’s appointments, charged by state and local prosecutors for fraudulent billing in Colorado in February 2026.
Yassin is accused of charging Colorado Medicaid a total of $3.3 million in questionable bills under a company called Sama Limo, according to the report. Yassin is accused of charging $283,000 for 64 rides for one person, coming out to over $4,000 per ride. Roughly $165,000 of those charges came after the patient in question had already died, the report said.
"Proceeds from this scheme were allegedly used for personal gain, including the purchase of a home, furnishings, luxury vehicles, jewelry, and cosmetic surgery," a federal release announcing the charges said. It also pointed to charges against Ashley Marie Stevens, who is accused of trying to bilk the state for over $1 million in taxpayer dollars. She is accused of billing the state some $400,000 for non-medical rides for herself and her family in addition to "ghost rides," which never even took place.
VANCE-LED TASK FORCE CUTS OFF $1.4B FROM HOME HEALTH, HOSPICE PROVIDERS SUSPECTED OF FRAUD The report also accused the hospice industry in California of raising suspicions of fraud. "Investigators observed nearly 500 hospices operating in a three-mile radius in L.A. County, 137 hospices operating on Van Nuys Boulevard alone, and 89 companies registered to a single address in Van Nuys," the report said.
TRUMP ADMIN’S FRAUD CRACKDOWN TARGETS FOREIGNERS ACCUSED OF INFILTRATING US FEDERAL PROGRAMS The document also noted that House lawmakers raised concerns with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that an increase in home health and hospice providers raised red flags about possible healthcare fraud tied to foreign criminal groups earlier this year. "The Committees were concerned about data from a March 2022 California State Auditor’s Report and HHS hospice ownership data, showing that L.A. County had more than 31 percent of the hospice agencies in the U.S. in 2022," the report said.
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