Atias Duo Nabbed for $700K Mortgage & Medicaid Scam

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY – Joseph Atias, 52, and Sofia Atias, 47, both of Great Neck, NY, are facing decades behind bars after a federal jury found them guilty of a brazen scheme to defraud Bank of America and the Medicaid system. The couple was convicted of bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and Medicaid fraud earlier this afternoon in federal court, capping off a case detailing a calculated effort to line their pockets at the expense of financial institutions and taxpayer-funded healthcare.

Prosecutors laid out a case demonstrating the Atias’s manipulation of a property sale adjacent to Sacred Heart Academy. They initially sold the property in a short sale for $480,000, attempting to discharge their mortgage debt. However, unbeknownst to Bank of America, Sacred Heart Academy had offered $925,000 for the same property. The Atias’s, along with a co-conspirator – an attorney who previously pleaded guilty and testified – deliberately concealed the higher offer, submitting falsified documents to secure the short sale. A relative was used as a straw buyer to further mask the deception, allowing the couple to pocket approximately $500,000 when the property was ultimately sold to Sacred Heart Academy.

The fraud didn’t stop there. Between 2009 and 2015, the Atias’s systematically defrauded the Medicaid system, concealing their self-employment and substantial assets – including trust fund money and the $465,000 gained from the bank fraud – to illegally collect approximately $2,500 per month in benefits. They actively hid their financial resources to maintain Medicaid eligibility, essentially stealing from a program designed to assist those genuinely in need.

Acting United States Attorney Bridget M. Rohde minced no words following the verdict. “Through a web of lies and false documentation, these defendants stole more than half a million dollars from Bank of America and from Medicaid, which they used to line their own pockets,” she stated. “The fine work of the FBI… sends a clear message to anyone who contemplates engaging in mortgage fraud or Medicaid fraud: Do not even attempt it, because you will be caught and held responsible.”

Joseph Atias was immediately remanded to custody following the verdict, awaiting sentencing by United States District Judge Denis R. Hurley. Both defendants now face a potential sentence of up to 35 years’ imprisonment. In addition to the lengthy prison terms, the court will also determine forfeiture of $560,000 and restitution exceeding $700,000, forcing the Atias’s to repay the full extent of their ill-gotten gains. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Charles P. Kelly and Burton T. Ryan, Jr. of the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division.

This conviction serves as a stark reminder that even complex financial schemes will be exposed. The FBI’s New York Field Office, led by Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr., played a crucial role in unraveling the Atias’s scheme and bringing them to justice. The Grimy Times will continue to follow this case as sentencing approaches.