DA: Great Neck Man Charged with Welfare Fraud

A Great Neck man is accused of stealing more than $22,000 in Medicaid benefits by underreporting income from his business and rental property, officials said.

Now Omid Chaman, 38, of Great Neck, faces up to seven years in prison, plus restitution fines, if convicted of the top charge, the Nassau County District Attorney’s office said.

According to District Attorney Kathleen Rice,  Chaman, owner of Chaman Antique Rug Gallery, which has two locations in Manhattan, falsely reported his income to Nassau County’s Department of Social Services from April 1, 2009, to July 31, 2012. Chaman also failed to report rental income from a property he owned. During this period, Chaman and his family received $22,732 in Medicaid benefits, even though they were not entitled to it, the DA's office said.

“Those who deceive government agencies entrusted with the proper disbursement of taxpayer-funded benefits are putting the financial future of our social safety net at risk for their own selfish ends,” Rice said, in a statement.

The arrest was the result of a joint investigation by the Nassau DA Public Assistance Fraud Unit and DSS, which referred the matter to DA investigators in January 2013.

Chaman was charged with third-degree welfare fraud, third-degree grand larceny and first-degree offering a false instrument for filing.