Attorney General James Announces Conviction and Sentencing of Suffolk County Transportation Company Owner for Stealing Over $1 Million from Medicaid

January 14, 2026

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced the conviction and sentencing of James Bessell, Sr., 65, of Shirley, New York for stealing more than $1 million from New York's Medicaid program by taking advantage of vulnerable New Yorkers through fake billing and kickback schemes. As the owner and operator of the transportation company Jim Jim Rentals, Inc., (Jim Jim Rentals) Bessell was paid by Medicaid for coordinating the transportation of Medicaid recipients to and from their medical appointments. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General's (OAG) Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) revealed that Bessell submitted fake claims to Medicaid that included recipients who were revealed to be deceased, incarcerated, or hospitalized. Bessell was convicted of Grand Larceny in the First Degree, sentenced to one and a half to four and a half years in state prison, and paid $1.5 million in restitution.

"Exploiting the Medicaid program for personal profit jeopardizes the health care of vulnerable New Yorkers," said Attorney General James. "Jim Bessell's fraudulent schemes were illegal and diverted critical resources away from Medicaid. My office will continue to stop fraud in our health care system to ensure every New Yorker can get the quality care they deserve."

Medicaid reimburses authorized businesses for transporting Medicaid patients to and from covered medical services. Bessell, as owner and operator of Jim Jim Rentals, provided transportation services for Medicaid recipients and submitted claims to Medicaid for payment. The OAG's investigation revealed that from March 2019 through August 2023, Bessell submitted fabricated claims to Medicaid for transportation services that did not occur, involving Medicaid recipients who were deceased, incarcerated, hospitalized, or did not receive any medical service on the date in question.

Bessell accomplished this in part through a complex pyramid-style system of kickback payments to Medicaid recipients. He would pay certain recipients to not attend their scheduled medical appointments, including appointments for substance abuse treatment, but still bill Medicaid as if the trips had occurred. Additionally, Bessell used a financial incentive structure to encourage the recipients he was already paying to recruit additional recipients to participate in the scheme. Based on these fake claims, Bessell fraudulently received over $1 million in payments from Medicaid.

On September 30, 2025, in Suffolk County Court, Bessell and his transportation company, Jim Jim Rentals, each pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the First Degree, a class B felony. On January 8, 2026, Bessell was sentenced to one and a half to four and a half years in state prison and paid $1.5 million in restitution to the New York Medicaid program. Jim Jim Rentals was sentenced to a Conditional Discharge. As a result of their convictions, Bessell and Jim Jim Rentals will also be barred from being providers in all government-funded health programs, including Medicaid and Medicare.

The OAG thanks the New York State Department of Health and the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General for their assistance and cooperation in this investigation.

This investigation was conducted by MFCU Detectives Thomas Fisch and Allison Smith, with the assistance of MFCU Detective Supervisor Christopher Miro and Deputy Chief Investigator Ronald Lynch. The financial analysis was conducted by Principal Auditor-Investigator MaryAnn Carney, Senior Auditor-Investigators Patrick Beltrani and Teresa Murphy, and Auditor-Investigators David Stringer and Lorgia Vasconcellos, with the assistance of Regional Chief Auditor Gretchen Spence. Legal Support Analysts Anne Liptak and Nicole Giotta provided paralegal assistance.

This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorneys General Christina Pinnola and Matthew C. DeSaro, with assistance from Regional Director Veronica Bindrim-MacDevitt, and MFCU Chief of Criminal Investigations Thomas O'Hanlon. MFCU is led by Director Amy Held and Assistant Deputy Attorney General Paul J. Mahoney. The Division of Criminal Justice is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General José Maldonado under the oversight of First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.

Attorney General James has consistently taken action to stop transportation companies from defrauding Medicaid. In June 2025, Attorney General James announced a major takedown of 25 companies throughout the state for stealing millions of dollars from Medicaid with fake billing schemes. In December 2024, Attorney General James announced the convictions and sentences of five taxi company owners in Orange and Rensselaer counties for defrauding Medicaid. In October 2024, Attorney General James announced the convictions of the owners of an Orange County transportation company for stealing more than $2 million from Medicaid

Reporting Medicaid Provider Fraud: MFCU defends the public by addressing Medicaid provider fraud and protecting nursing home residents from abuse and neglect. If an individual believes they have information about Medicaid provider fraud or about an incident of abuse or neglect of a nursing home resident, they can file a confidential complaint online or call the MFCU hotline at (800) 771-7755. If the situation is an emergency, please call 911.

New York MFCU's total funding for federal fiscal year (FY) 2026 is $70,793,651. Of that total, 75 percent, or $53,095,240, is awarded under a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $17,698,411 for FY 2026, is funded by New York State.