Three-Quarter House Operator Arrested for Medicaid Fraud

The New York Times reported that Yury Baumblit, a three-quarter house operator who was the defendant in a class action lawsuit brought by MFY Legal Services in 2010, was arrested yesterday with his wife and charged with Medicaid fraud for allegedly accepting kickbacks from substance abuse treatment providers. Baumblit generally compelled residents to attend specific treatment programs, whether or not they needed those services. MFY attorney Matthew Main commented that “This action by the attorney general’s office sends the message that . . .the lives of poor people matter.”