NEW YORK, NY — Republican and Conservative nominee for New York State Comptroller Joseph Hernandez today blasted Governor Kathy Hochul and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli following an investigation revealing that Hochul received $55,000 in campaign contributions tied to Medicaid-funded adult daycare operators whose businesses billed taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
According to the report, nine adult daycare operators contributed more than $5,000 to Hochul’s 2022 campaign while their centers billed Medicaid approximately $49 million that same year. Nearly half of Hochul’s $55,000 in contributions was connected to Baoli Zhang and Jiemin Shang. Businesses tied to Zhang alone have reportedly billed Medicaid at least $32 million since 2018. Two facilities connected to Zhang and Shang were reportedly empty when reporters visited them.
“Hochul took the campaign checks while Medicaid sent millions of taxpayer dollars out the door, and Tom DiNapoli, the man whose job is to protect those taxpayers, was nowhere to be found,” Hernandez said. “This is exactly what happens after decades of one-party rule in Albany. The politicians spend the money, politically connected operators benefit from the system, and nobody is held accountable until after taxpayers have already been burned.”
The controversy comes amid explosive growth in New York’s Medicaid program during DiNapoli’s nearly two decades as Comptroller. When DiNapoli took office in 2007, New York Medicaid spending was approximately $48.7 billion. By Fiscal Year 2025, spending had reached approximately $115.6 billion, an increase of roughly 137%.
As recently as February 2025, approximately 6.9 million New Yorkers, or about 35% of the state’s population, were enrolled in Medicaid.
“Medicaid spending has more than doubled on Tom DiNapoli’s watch, but the oversight clearly has not kept pace,” Hernandez said. “The Comptroller is supposed to be New York’s fiscal watchdog. When taxpayers are spending more than $115 billion a year on one program, his job is not to discover abuse after the money disappears. His job is to make sure the money is being spent properly in the first place.”
Concerns involving social adult daycare centers are not new. The New York State Department of Health has reportedly referred 387 social adult daycare centers for investigation since 2021, with approximately one-third later referred to the Attorney General for potential legal action.
“For years, the warning signs have been there,” Hernandez said. “Hundreds of adult daycare centers have been referred for investigation, Medicaid spending has exploded, and New Yorkers continue hearing about suspicious billing after the fact. Tom DiNapoli has been Comptroller for nearly 20 years and has been in Albany since 1986. At some point, the person responsible for watching the money has to answer for what happened on his watch.”
The individuals and facilities identified in the report have not been charged with wrongdoing.
“Kathy Hochul takes the donations. Medicaid pays out the money. Fraud concerns pile up. And Tom DiNapoli stays silent,” Hernandez said. “That is Albany’s one-party system in a nutshell, and taxpayers are the ones stuck with the bill.”
Hernandez continued: “I don’t care who you donated to, who invited you to the fundraiser or who you know in Albany. If you steal from New York taxpayers, I will find you, audit you and refer you for prosecution. New Yorkers need a watchdog, not another Albany lapdog.”
As Comptroller, Hernandez will establish a Fraud Strike Team focused on Medicaid, the MTA and other major areas of state spending, expand real-time auditing and pre-payment monitoring, and aggressively refer suspected criminal activity to law enforcement.
“Albany Democrats have spent years treating taxpayer money like it belongs to them,” Hernandez said. “Before Kathy Hochul and the politicians in Albany demand another dollar from New Yorkers, they should account for the billions they are already spending. After nearly 20 years of Tom DiNapoli, taxpayers deserve a Comptroller who will finally protect their money.”