By The Democratic money machine has another uncomfortable situation. Once again it appears the party is funded by fraud.
A politically connected New York cardiologist who has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul also advised two members of the Pakistani-American community implicated in Medicaid fraud schemes totaling more than $107 million, writes The New York Post.
Dr. Ijaz Ahmad, a healthcare entrepreneur and major Democratic fundraiser, has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Neither has the political organization he founded.
But Ahmad’s ties to two accused fraud figures are drawing scrutiny as Democrats face mounting questions about the people, organizations and fundraising networks supplying their campaigns with money and political influence.
Ahmad reportedly hosted a fundraiser for Mamdani at his 10,000-square-foot mansion in Old Westbury, Long Island, one day after federal agents raided an adult day care center operated by pharmacist Pervez Siddiqui.
Siddiqui was arrested last month and charged in connection with an alleged $38 million Medicaid fraud operation involving two Brooklyn facilities, APNA Adult Daycare and Ashiana Social Adult Daycare.
Federal prosecutors allege that Siddiqui and seven co-defendants bribed elderly New Yorkers for access to their Medicaid information, enrolled people who rarely attended the centers and billed the government for services that were never provided.
The alleged scheme ran from 2019 through December 2025.
Siddiqui and his co-defendants have not yet entered pleas.
Ahmad has also been linked to Zakia Khan, who pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to defraud Medicaid through several Brooklyn healthcare facilities. Khan’s scheme allegedly cost taxpayers approximately $68 million. She is awaiting sentencing.
Ahmad reportedly advises members of New York’s Pakistani-American community on opening healthcare facilities that depend heavily on Medicaid reimbursements. He also uses his sprawling Long Island property to introduce healthcare operators and community leaders to powerful Democratic politicians.
Those relationships have made Ahmad a major player in New York Democratic politics.
He founded the American Pakistani Public Affairs Committee in 2018. APPAC says it works to elect South Asian and Muslim candidates and combat anti-Muslim sentiment.
The organization has raised more than $306,000 for Democratic candidates during the past year. It previously supported the presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden and has become a significant financial backer of Hochul.
Following Mamdani’s election victory in December, Ahmad organized an APPAC fundraiser for the incoming mayor’s transition team.
Approximately 70 people attended, each reportedly donating $3,700 and raising nearly $263,000.
Siddiqui, who served on APPAC’s national board, attended the event. He and other donors later received invitations to Mamdani’s inauguration.
The revelations come as another pillar of the Democratic fundraising apparatus, ActBlue, remains under congressional investigation over allegations involving foreign donations, suspicious transactions and inadequate donor verification.
ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 22 times during a June congressional hearing, refusing to answer questions about internal training materials that investigators said directed employees to accept donations made under fake names.
An April congressional report also alleged that ActBlue accepted potentially unlawful foreign contributions during the 2024 election and later minimized the extent of its compliance problems. ActBlue has denied wrongdoing, and no criminal charges have been filed against the organization or its executives. re is no indication that APPAC’s fundraising was processed through ActBlue or that Ahmad is connected to the congressional investigation. But the controversies together add to questions about how Democratic political money is raised, verified and converted into access to elected officials.
Ahmad personally donated $16,000 to New York Attorney General Letitia James between 2021 and 2025.
James’ office recently faced federal scrutiny after funding for New York’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit was suspended amid concerns about inadequate enforcement and too few prosecutions.
Ahmad has also cultivated close ties to Hochul.
He organized events for the governor, including an Iftar dinner, and donated $10,000 to a pro-Hochul political action committee during 2024 and 2025.
Hochul appointed Ahmad to the state Justice Center Advisory Council in 2024. The council helps shape policies affecting people with disabilities and others with special needs.
New York City now has 375 social adult day care facilities offering meals, recreational activities and other services to seniors. Some provide services that overlap with those already offered through publicly supported senior centers.
Medicaid paid approximately $3.35 billion to adult day care providers nationwide in 2024. Nearly 20 percent of that money went to facilities in New York.
APPAC has expanded its political operation beyond the state. The organization hired a Washington lobbying firm and recently endorsed Mamdani’s slate of candidates in Democratic primaries, including activist Darializa Avila Chevalier.
The organization’s offices were previously located in a building connected to one of Ahmad’s medical centers.
Ahmad has also hosted foreign officials, including Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs publicized Dar’s May visit to Ahmad’s home.
APPAC is not registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, although the gatherings have been characterized as social events rather than lobbying activity.
Some members of the Pakistani-American community say Ahmad’s political activity is less about public service than accumulating access and influence.
“He has no personality and he does everything to get noticed. He uses his property and five-star hotels to host these political events,” one unidentified community source said.
Another offered a more colorful description.
“He’s like Mickey Mouse. He’s everywhere.”
A healthcare consultant suggested Ahmad’s political relationships may also provide some measure of protection in a heavily regulated industry.
“Ijaz has made a career of getting close to politicians, perhaps it’s his way of keeping them onside,” the consultant said.
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