A Long Island fraudster posed as a white coat-wearing doctor and even doled out prescriptions at a Queens clinic while using her accomplice’s medical credentials to bilk Medicaid, state prosecutors announced Thursday.
Francia Aguila, 53, and Gifty Appiah, 59, of Staten Island, were slapped with charges as part of an “elaborate Medicaid fraud scheme” allegedly totaling over $100,000 that lasted more than three years, according to the state attorney general’s office.
Aguila, of Farmington, regularly saw patients at Steinway Hope Medical in Astoria even though she had no license to practice medicine, AG Letitia James’ office said.
“New Yorkers in need of medical care sought treatment at Steinway Hope Medical, where they were taken advantage of by a fake doctor as part of an elaborate Medicaid fraud scheme,”James said in a statement.
She allegedly referred to herself as “Doctor Fran” and dressed in a white coat while examining unsuspecting patients as Appiah, a licensed nurse practitioner, allegedly raked in $10,000 each month — even though she rarely showed up at the clinic.
Instead Aguila, a part owner of the bogus practice, used Appiah’s identity and credentials to dole out prescription medications while performing stethoscope exams and checking out patients’ eyes with a penlight, prosecutors alleged.
“Practicing medicine without a license risks the lives of New Yorkers and undermines the integrity of our health care system,” James added.
Both fraudsters submitted phony claims to the state’s Medicaid-funded MCOs that documented that Appiah checked out patients, with the total bill at $105,018 between March 2021 and November 2024, the AG’s office said.
“My office will continue to root out fraud in our state’s Medicaid program and protect New Yorkers by bringing unlicensed practitioners to justice,” the attorney general also said.
Aguila and Steinway Hope Medical were each charged with a count of unauthorized practice of a profession, a count of first-degree falsifying business records and a count of unauthorized use of a professional title.
Appiah was hit with two counts of offering a first-degree false instrument for filing.
The two women could face up to four years behind bars on the top count, the AG’s office said.
An email to Steinway Hope Medical was not immediately returned.
