U.S.

Department of Justice

United States Attorney

Eastern District of New York
CCC:BTK/OG/JG 610 Federal Plaza
F. #2020R00154 Central Islip, New York 11722

December 2, 2020

By ECF and E-mail

The Honorable Steven I. Locke
United States Magistrate Judge
United States District Court
Eastern District of New York
Central Islip, New York 11722

Re: United States v. Ibrahim Aksakal, et al.

Docket No. 20-CR-400 (JS)

Dear Judge Locke:

The government respectfully submits this letter in anticipation of the

defendants’ arraignments on the enclosed Indictment (the “Indictment”). A more than year-
long investigation, which included the use of wiretaps, has established that the defendants
operated a brazen and sophisticated Birth Tourism scheme, which resulted in losses of more
than $2.1 million to New York State’s Medicaid Program. For more than three years, from
approximately January 2017 through September 2020, the defendants, Ibrahim Aksakal, also
known as “Dennis,” Indicted Co-conspirator #1, whose identity is known to the United States
Attorney, Enes Burak Cakiroglu, Sarah Kaplan, also known as “Hatun Kaplan” and “Hatin
Kaplan,” Fiordalisa Marte, also known as “Lisa” and Edgar Rodriguez, also known as
“Eddie,” operated two Turkish-language Facebook pages, www.facebook.com/bebegim
amerikadadogsun and www.facebook.com/amerikadadogum.org, and a website,
https://amerikadadogum.org (collectively, the “defendants’ webpages”), which promised
pregnant Turkish Aliens that they could give birth in the United States and thereby obtain
birthright United States citizenship for their children at “minimal cost[],” namely the
defendants’ fee of approximately $7,500, which included lodging, transportation and—
according to the defendants—purported “insurance” that would cover the costs of their pre-
natal care, births and post-natal care. But the “insurance” that the defendants promoted as
being “included” as part of their services was not free. Instead, the defendants foisted the
costs of the births that they fraudulently facilitated on the taxpaying public by submitting
fraudulent New York State Medicaid benefits applications on behalf of pregnant Turkish
Aliens, who fraudulently used visas issued for tourism and business (“tourist visas”) to travel
to the United States, not to engage in those activities, but to give birth and thereby secure
birthright citizenship for their children under false pretenses.

In contrast to statements in their and their spouses’ visa applications, which

listed permanent Turkish residences, employment and income in that country, and purported
plans to visit the United States for tourism or business, the Medicaid applications that the
defendants submitted stated that the pregnant Turkish Aliens were permanent New York
State residents, who had no income, and who resided in one of seven “Birth Houses” that the
defendants maintained, at various times, in Center Moriches, Dix Hills, East Northport, East
Patchogue, Smithtown and West Babylon, New York (collectively, the “defendants’ Birth
Houses”).

To perpetrate the scheme, defendants Aksakal, Indicted Co-conspirator #1,

Cakiroglu and Kaplan advertised the scheme and facilitated the lodging, transportation and
submission of Medicaid applications on behalf of pregnant Turkish nationals. Defendants
Marte and Rodriguez—professionals who were trained and certified to help individuals in
New York State apply for Medicaid coverage—used their training and skills to submit
blatantly false Medicaid applications on behalf of the pregnant Turkish Aliens. For example,
knowing that each applicant was temporarily in the United States for the purpose of giving
birth, Marte and Rodriguez repeatedly used the Birth Houses’ addresses as the supposedly
permanent residences of approximately 99 unrelated pregnant Turkish Aliens on New York
State Medicaid applications that they submitted during the scheme. 1 Tellingly, many of the
applications that Marte and Rodriguez submitted listed Aksakal or Kaplan’s phone numbers
as purported contact information for the pregnant Turkish Aliens. Based upon these lies and
misrepresentations, the defendants fraudulently obtained more than $2.1 million in Medicaid
coverage for the pregnant Turkish Aliens to pay for their pre-natal, labor and delivery costs.

As detailed below, the overwhelming evidence of the defendants’ guilt

includes a wealth of information, including intercepted telephone communications,
undercover recordings, seized text messages and other electronic communications and
physical surveillance. The investigation has further established that the defendants
perpetrated this scheme over approximately three years. During that time, the defendants
facilitated the births of approximately 119 Turkish children, who now hold birthright United
States citizenship and the accompanying rights and privileges of United States citizens. On
one of their webpages, however, the defendants claimed to have facilitated more than 800
births while perpetrating their scheme.

1
Most recently, the investigation has established that, on or about August 17, 2020,
Marte caused the submission of a fraudulent Medicaid application on behalf of a pregnant
Turkish Alien, whose identity is known to the United States Attorney (“Mother #1”). Law
enforcement surveillance established that Mother #1 resided in the defendants’ East
Patchogue Birth House before, as reflected in a birth certificate obtained during the
investigation, she gave birth at a hospital in Suffolk County or about October 29, 2020.

2
 The government estimates that the defendants’ took approximately $750,000
in fees from Turkish Aliens as part of the scheme, nearly all of it in untraceable cash, an
untold amount of which, intercepted communications show, was funneled to one or more
bank accounts in Turkey, thereby preventing the government from seizing it. Furthermore,
several of the defendants have significant ties to foreign countries and they are facing
estimated United States Sentencing Guidelines ranges of imprisonment of at least ten years’
imprisonment. Accordingly, as explained in greater detail below, the Court should find that
each of the defendants’ poses a danger to the community and a flight risk and enter
Permanent Orders of Detention against them. See 18 U.S.C. § 3142.

BACKGROUND 2

I. The Defendants’ Birth Tourism Scheme

A. Overview

Early this morning, agents and officers from the United States Department of
Homeland Security (“DHS”), Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), the Suffolk County
Police Department (“SCPD”), the United States Department of Health and Human Services
(“HHS”) and the New York State Department of Health (“DOH”), Office of the Medicaid
Inspector General (“OMIG”) arrested the five of defendants at locations in Suffolk County.
From at least January 2017 to September 2020, the defendants operated a Birth Tourism
scheme, which promised pregnant Turkish Aliens that the defendants would provide them
with housing, accommodation, purported “insurance” and medical coverage so that the
Aliens could give birth in the United States and thereby acquire birthright citizenship for
their children. The consistent perpetration of visa fraud and health care fraud, along with
other forms of manipulation and deceit, was critical to the defendants’ efforts to carry out
and conceal their scheme. Execution of search warrants on Facebook pages and iCloud
accounts, surveillance, recordings made by an undercover DHS employee and
communications seized pursuant to Wiretap Orders issued by the County Court of Suffolk
County (the “Wiretaps”) demonstrate, overwhelmingly, that each of the defendants is guilty
of the offenses that they are charged with in the present Indictment.

As described further below, each defendant played a critical role in

perpetrating this long-standing scheme, which cost taxpayers at least $2.1 million and which
is likely to have untold reverberating effects as children born as a result of the scheme seek
to claim the many rights and privileges of United States citizenship. Defendants Aksakal and
Kaplan, the scheme’s main organizers, promoted the scheme and coordinated the

2
Because the “rules concerning admissibility of evidence in criminal trials do not
apply” to bail hearings, see 18 U.S.C. § 3142(f)(2)(B), the parties may proceed by way of
proffer. See United States v. LaFontaine, 210 F.3d 125, 130-31 (2d Cir. 2000). This proffer
of facts is not a complete statement of all facts and evidence of which the government is
aware or that it will seek to introduce at trial.

3
transportation, housing and accommodation of the pregnant Turkish Aliens while they were
in the United States. Aksakal and Kaplan also worked closely with Marte and Rodriguez to
ensure that the pregnant Turkish Aliens would receive and use their fraudulently obtained
Medicaid benefits. Defendant Cakiroglu operated one of the defendants’ Facebook pages
and assisted with the submission of fraudulent tourist visa applications in Turkey. Indicted
Co-conspirator #1 fielded calls from prospective Turkish clients, promoted the scheme to
them and assisted with their transportation and lodging upon arrival to the United States.

At the direction of defendants Aksakal, Indicted Co-conspirator #1, Cakiroglu

and Kaplan, the pregnant Turkish Aliens would conceal their pregnancies and either apply
for tourist visas or use previously issued tourist visas to enter the United States with the
intent to give birth. Thereafter, Aksakal and Kaplan would provide Marte or Rodriguez with
the pregnant Turkish Aliens’ identifying information and photographs of their fraudulently
used tourist visas so that Marte and Rodriguez could cause the submission of Medicaid
applications that falsely stated that the pregnant Turkish Aliens were destitute New York
residents who were entitled to Medicaid benefits to cover the costs of their pregnancies.
Once those Medicaid benefits were fraudulently obtained, the defendants coordinated with
the staffs of physicians’ offices located in Suffolk County to provide medical treatment for
the pregnant Turkish Aliens. Physicians working out of these offices were responsible for
birthing approximately 120 babies who were born as a result of the scheme.

B. The Defendants’ Promotion of their Scheme to Turkish Aliens

As part of the scheme, defendants Aksakal, Indicted Co-conspirator #1 and

Cakiroglu operated and administered the defendants’ webpages. Translated into English, the
defendants’ Facebook page bebegimamerikadadogsun means “My Baby Should be Born in
America,” and the defendants’ Facebook page and website, amerikadadogum means “Giving
Birth in America.” Data obtained from Facebook pursuant to search warrants demonstrated
that phone numbers used by defendants Aksakal and Indicted Co-conspirator #1 were listed
as contact information on the webpages. In addition, execution of those warrants,
examination of Internet Protocol (“IP”) address information, travel records and physical
surveillance of defendant Cakiroglu, demonstrated that Cakiroglu established and operated
the bebegimamerikadadogsun Facebook page.

In sum and substance, the defendants’ webpages advertised their Birth

Tourism scheme. For example, a translated January 10, 2018 posting on the
bebegimamerikadadogsun Facebook Page stated: “If you believe your baby should be born in
the USA and become an American citizen then you are at the right place. . . . [W]e at
‘Bebegim Amerika Dogsun’ . . . will provide future mothers and fathers this opportunity,
with minimal costs . . .” 3 See Translated Jan. 10, 2018 Facebook Posting (attached as

3
Unless otherwise noted, all communications referenced above that appeared on the
defendants’ webpages or that were between defendants Aksakal and Kaplan and undercover

4
Exhibit 1). The January 10, 2018 posting further stated, in substance, that fees paid by
pregnant Turkish Aliens would include transportation, medical care, assistance with the
process for applying for United States citizenship on behalf of children born in connection
with the scheme and the ability to consult in Turkish concerning health care issues. The
posting also informed would-be customers that the defendants’ competitors’ fees were higher
because of “misguided information that insurance will not cover expensive hospital and birth
fees.”

Similarly, on or about April 3, 2019, the defendants’

bebegimamerikadadogsun Facebook Page displayed a photograph of an infant positioned
between the Turkish and America flags and solicited Aliens who believed that their “baby
should be born in America.” See Facebook Posting (attached as Exhibit 2). The Facebook
advertisement touted the “hospital expenses” that would be included in the defendants’ fees,
while neglecting to mention that American taxpayers would ultimately foot the bill for the
defendants’ deceitful scheme.

To ensure their illicit profits, the defendants needed to facilitate the unlawful
entry of pregnant Turkish Aliens into the United States. On or about May 29, 2019, during a
recorded conversation with an undercover DHS employee (“UC”) Aksakal explained that to
enter the United States to give birth, a pregnant Turkish Alien would need to fraudulently
apply for a “tourist visa,” before the pregnancy became “obvious.” Further, in
communications between Aksakal and an individual whose identity is known to the United
States Attorney (“John Doe #1”), which were intercepted on or about February 12 and 13,
2020, Aksakal explained that defendant “Burak Cakiroglu” was the “man” who “gets . . .
everyone that comes here their visas.” Aksakal further told John Doe #1 that Cakiroglu
charged approximately $500-600 for his visa services. During the May 29 call with the UC,
Aksakal explained that for $7,500, Aksakal’s “guys” would take the UC’s wife to the
“insurance company” and that purportedly “free” “insurance” would cover “hospital
expenses” and “doctor expenses.”

In addition to Aksakal, Indicted Co-conspirator #1 promoted the scheme to

pregnant Turkish Aliens and their spouses. In a February 20, 2020 recorded phone call with
UC, who was posing as the spouse of a pregnant Turkish Alien, Indicted Co-conspirator #1
candidly explained:

[i]f it was me, I would not want people come and get citizenship and not pay
any taxes or live in the country ever, but still everyday hundreds, thousands
people come to this country to give birth from all over the world. Because
there are benefits that the country provides. The county is known as the super
country in the world. The healthcare system in the U.S. is highly expensive.
There is no government health institution in the U.S. Everything is private

agents or persons other than defendants Rodriguez or Marte were translated from Turkish to
English. These translations are preliminary and subject to change.

5
 therefore healthcare is quite expensive here. Also birth is expensive. I can tell
you that the person, gentleman I know can provide you the cheapest birth here.

As the February 20 call proceeded, Indicted Co-conspirator #1 explained that

the person who “could provide . . . the cheapest birth” in the United States was “Mr.
Ibrahim.” Indicted Co-conspirator #1 further stated that “Mr. Ibrahim” had been conducting
a Birth Tourism business for the “last five years.” Indicted Co-conspirator #1 confirmed that
“Mr. Ibrahim” was her “boss.” As described below, communications intercepted pursuant to
the Wiretap Orders leave no doubt that “Mr. Ibrahim” is defendant Aksakal. During the
February 20 call with UC, Indicted Co-conspirator #1 further explained that Aksakal wanted
pregnant Turkish Aliens to arrive in the United States not later than their “34th week” of
pregnancy.

Additional intercepted calls between Indicted Co-conspirator #1 and Aksakal

revealed that Indicted Co-conspirator #1 was well-aware of the duplicity that was inherent in
the defendants’ advice that Birth Tourism customers arrive in the United States before their
thirty-fourth week of pregnancy. Indeed, Aksakal played on this aspect of the scheme in a
February 19, 2020 intercepted call in which Indicted Co-conspirator #1 was startled based
upon Aksakal’s mock assertion that border officials had refused to allow one of the
defendants’ customers to enter the United States.

AKSAKAL: [Indicted Co-conspirator #1’s first name][ph], they turned them

back. They turned them back.
[Voices overlap]
INDICTED CO-CONSPIRATOR #1: [u/i]. Why? How?
AKSAKAL: The girl is thirty six (36) weeks in.
INDICTED CO-CONSPIRATOR #1: Yes?
AKSAKAL: Her stomach is too big … Joke, joke, we got them, we got them
[laughs].
INDICTED CO-CONSPIRATOR #1: [Laughs] I got very upset them for
them for a moment!
AKSAKAL: No, no, I’m joking.
INDICTED CO-CONSPIRATOR #1: Good, they came already, health to
them [laughs].

Returning to her call the following day, February 20, with UC, Indicted Co-
conspirator #1 stated that the entire process of securing birthright citizenship would take
approximately 2-4 months and entail the payment of “$10,000” for a “full package” of
services, including doctor appointments, birthing care, accommodation in “American style
houses” and assistance in obtaining a United States birth certificate and passport to ensure
that the “baby will be a U.S. Citizen.” 4 When UC asked Indicted Co-conspirator #1 whether

4
Additional intercepted communications demonstrate that Indicted Co-conspirator #1
took a percentage of amounts over the customary $7,500 fee that Aksakal charged pregnant
Turkish Aliens. For example, on or about January 23, 2020, in an intercepted

6
UC and his “wife” needed to “make any payment to the hospital,” Indicted Co-conspirator #1
responded that “[y]ou don’t do anything” and she further reiterated “you don’t pay” and that
UC would not need to “buy insurance.” As such, Indicted Co-conspirator #1 explained that
the cost of obtaining birthright citizenship would be limited to the defendants’ approximately
$10,000 fee. Indicted Co-conspirator #1 was able to make these claims because, as the
investigation revealed, the defendants were engaged in a scheme to defraud New York
State’s Medicaid program, which foisted the costs of the defendants’ fraud on the taxpaying
public.

C. The Fraudulent Medicaid Applications

As intercepted communications between Aksakal and Kaplan revealed,

fraudulently obtaining Medicaid identification numbers, which were also known as Client
Identification Numbers or “CINs,” was a critical part of the scheme. This was because, as
Aksakal and Kaplan discussed in a January 8, 2020 intercepted communication, Aksakal and
his co-conspirators were not paid until the numbers were issued:

KAPLAN: Let’s wait for tomorrow, Ibrahim.

AKSAKAL: But you can get the number issued right away right? I’m going to get
the money from the guy accordingly.

****

AKSAKAL: Because on the first day when he goes to the doctor, he will give me the
money.

In an ultimately unsuccessful gambit to conceal their scheme, Aksakal and his

co-conspirators sought to use multiple addresses for Birth Houses that they operated when
applying for Medicaid benefits for the pregnant Turkish Aliens. As described above, during
the course of the scheme, Aksakal and his co-conspirators maintained at least seven Birth
Houses in Suffolk County. For example, in an October 3, 2019 text message exchange
between two cellular telephones that Aksakal and Kaplan used throughout the scheme, which
was seized pursuant to a search warrant executed on Aksakal’s iCloud account, Aksakal and
Kaplan discussed the use of multiple address, as follows:

AKSAKAL: EMERGENCY, CALL ME

KAPLAN: THEY SAID ALL THE ADDRESSES FOR THE GIRLS

SHOULD NOT BE THE SAME

communication, Indicted Co-conspirator #1 and Aksakal discussed Indicted Co-conspirator

#1 being paid a portion of a $9,400 fee that one of Aksakal’s Birth Tourism clients paid for
the defendants’ suite of services.

7
 AKSAKAL: OK

AKSAKAL: [ADDRESS OF THE EAST NORTHPORT BIRTH HOUSE]

KAPLAN: ARE YOU GOING TO USE [AN INDIVIDUAL’S WHOSE

IDENTITY IS KNOWN TO THE UNITED STATES
ATTORNEY (“JOHN DOE #2”)]

AKSAKAL: NO

AKSAKAL: [ADDRESS OF THE CENTER MORICHES BIRTH HOUSE]

AKSAKAL: THIS IS THE OTHER HOUSE

AKSAKAL: USE

KAPLAN: OK

Typically, the fraudulent Medicaid application process proceeded by Aksakal

or Kaplan providing Rodriguez or Marte with the name and visa for a pregnant Turkish
Alien. 5 As Marte and Rodriguez well knew from their training and experience, only
residents of New York State are eligible for New York State Medicaid. 6 To further the
scheme, however, Marte and Rodriguez purposefully submitted applications purporting that
the pregnant Turkish Aliens were New York State residents when they knew that information
was false. Furthermore, contrary to detailed recertification training that both Marte and
Rodriguez completed, Marte and Rodriguez blatantly misclassified each applicant’s
immigration status by failing to disclose that they were nonimmigrant visa holders,
temporarily in the United States. As Marte and Rodriguez well knew, this misrepresentation
further obscured the applicants’ true residency and avoided additional scrutiny that each
applicant would have otherwise been subjected to regarding whether the applicant met the
residency requirements to be eligible for New York State Medicaid. In total, Marte and
Rodriguez caused the filing of approximately 98 Medicaid applications in which the pregnant

5
Throughout the relevant time period, Marte and Rodriguez were employed as
assistors, which is a person that is trained and certified to help individuals in New York State
apply for health coverage, including Medicaid. Specifically, they worked as marketplace
facilitated enrollers, which is a type of assistor employed by a Managed Care Organization
that was contracted by New York State to provide health care to Medicaid recipients. Marte
also worked as an insurance broker, which is a professional licensed to sell insurance and
may, like an assistor, be certified to help individuals in New York State apply for health
coverage, including Medicaid.
6
Medicaid also funds emergency care for applicants temporarily in New York State,
such as tourists traveling under nonimmigrant visas, provided that they did not enter New
York State for the purpose of receiving such medical care.

8
Turkish Aliens’ addresses were listed as one of the defendants’ Suffolk County Birth Houses.
See Exhibit 3 (chart of fraudulently submitted Medicaid applications). Moreover, in
Medicaid applications that Rodriguez and Marte filed, phone numbers that Aksakal and
Kaplan used were listed as contact information for the pregnant Turkish Aliens’ dozens of
times. See id.

Specifically, addresses for the defendants’ Birth Houses were used

approximately 98 times on Medicaid applications that Marte or Rodriguez caused to be filed.
Approximately fourteen (14) Medicaid applications used the address of the Dix Hills Birth
House. Approximately forty (40) Medicaid applications used the address of the one of the
Smithtown Birth Houses. Approximately eighteen (18) Medicaid applications used the
address of a second Smithtown Birth House. Approximately six (6) Medicaid applications
used the address of the East Northport Birth House. Approximately fourteen (14) Medicaid
applications used the address of the West Babylon Birth House. Approximately four (4)
Medicaid application used the address of the Center Moriches Birth House. Approximately
two (2) Medicaid applications used the address of the East Patchogue Birth House.

In addition, on approximately seventy (70) occasions, Marte or Rodriguez

used Aksakal’s cellular telephone number as contact information for pregnant Turkish Aliens
in Medicaid applications. On one (1) occasion, Rodriguez used a phone number that
matched Aksakal’s phone number with the exception of one digit. On another approximately
eight (8) occasions, Marte used Kaplan’s phone number as contact information for pregnant
Turkish Aliens in Medicaid applications. Moreover, in another approximately seven (7)
instances, Marte used cellular telephone numbers that were subscribed to Kaplan’s alias,
“Hatun” or “Hatin” Kaplan, or Kaplan’s father, as contact information for pregnant Turkish
Aliens in Medicaid applications.

The Turkish Aliens’ visa applications demonstrated unequivocally that they

were residents of Turkey who were gainfully employed in that country. Yet, in violation of
the mandatory trainings that they received from the New York State Department of Health
(“DOH”), Rodriguez and Marte repeatedly submitted applications for pregnant Turkish
Aliens that falsely stated that these individuals had no income and permanently resided in
one of the defendants’ eight Suffolk County Birth Houses. See Exhibit 1.

As an example of their transparent effort to deceive DOH, in an intercepted

February 21, 2020 intercepted communication, Kaplan and Marte had the following
conversation, concerning a Medicaid application for a pregnant Turkish national identified in
the Indictment’s Overt Acts section as “Jane Doe #3”:

KAPLAN: Maybe tonight we learning ID number? Because—

MARTE: Huh?

KAPLAN: We learn ID number [Jane Doe #3] . . . .

MARTE: I’m… Tomorrow I will have it for her.

9
 KAPLAN: Uh, what time tomorrow?

MARTE: Tomorrow you can call me, you can call me tomorrow around nine
(9:00) a.m.

KAPLAN: Nine (9:00) a.m.?

MARTE: Yeah. Nine (9:00) a.m., ten (10:00) a.m. Call me and I’ll send you a
text message with the ID number for both of them, both girls.

KAPLAN: Okay.

The following day, February 22, 2020, a conversation between Aksakal and
Kaplan concerning Jane Doe 3 was intercepted. During the conversation, Aksakal stated “for
[Jane Doe #3] . . . . When a number is released, you get the number . . . . [y]ou know, the
place in West Babylon there? I’ll take them there until the doctor comes. Let them be seen
there, okay?” In response, Kaplan stated “okay.”

Documents received during the course of the investigation, demonstrated that

Jane Doe #3 submitted a fraudulent tourist visa application on or about October 8, 2019. In
the application, the Jane Doe #3 falsely stated that she was traveling to the United States for
tourism and would be staying at a hotel in Manhattan. In reality, the investigation revealed
that Jane Doe #3 stayed at the defendants’ West Babylon Birth House. About one week after
Jane Doe #3 arrived in the United States, Marte caused a Medicaid application to be
submitted on Jane Doe #3’s behalf, which falsely stated that Jane Doe #3’s permanent
residence was the West Babylon Birth House. On or about April 24, 2020, Jane Doe #3
departed the United States after an application for a United States passport was filed on
behalf of her child.

On March 21, 2020, Marte exchanged a series of text messages with Kaplan
involving several babies that were born to pregnant Turkish Aliens. In contravention of her
training, Marte took information concerning these births from Kaplan and not the mothers or
children, who were purportedly entitled to New York State Medicaid coverage. The below
excerpt concerning Jane Doe #3 and Baby #3 is taken from and is illustrative of this text
message exchange.

MARTE: 3 babies born right?

KAPLAN: yes

****

KAPLAN: [Jane Doe #3’s surname]

****

KAPLAN: MMS picture of hospital name plate for [Jane Doe #3]

10
 MARTE: or her

MARTE: MMS picture of [Jane Doe #3’s] online Medicaid account containing
the address of the West Babylon Birth House

In another example of a fraudulent Medicaid submission, on or about July 10,

2018, Rodriguez faxed an identity proofing document to DOH to begin the process of
obtaining Medicaid benefits for a pregnant Turkish Alien, whose identity is known to the
United States Attorney (“Jane Doe #4”). 7 The address listed on this form was one of the
defendants’ Smithtown Birth Houses and the phone number listed on this form was
Aksakal’s cellphone number. The document provides for an attestation, under penalty of
perjury, that while Jane Doe #4 cannot provide proof of identity from a list of accepted items,
the information she is providing is true and correct. The document is purportedly signed by
Jane Doe #4 and dated July 10, 2018. On July 12, 2018, Rodriguez submitted a Medicaid
application to DOH on behalf of Jane Doe #4. The Medicaid application also listed Jane Doe
#4’s home address as the one of the defendants’ Smithtown Birth Houses and provided
Aksakal’s cellphone as her phone number.

On or about October 17, 2018—about three months after Rodriguez submitted

a fraudulent Medicaid application claiming that Jane Doe #4 resided at one of the
defendants’ Smithtown Birth Houses—Jane Doe #4 entered the United States using a
previously issued Tourist Visa.

According to a birth certificate provided by the Town of Smithtown, on

November 11, 2018, Jane Doe #4 gave birth to a child at St. Catherine of Siena Medical
Center in Smithtown, New York. A United States passport application (“DS-11”) was filed
with the Department of State on behalf of Jane Doe #4’s child on or about November 28,
2018. The DS-11 lists a mailing address of the one of the defendants’ Smithtown Birth
Houses. The DS-11 also lists defendant Aksakal as an emergency contact and provides
Aksakal’s cellphone number as contact information. The form also contains a primary
contact phone number of a telephone subscribed to Cakiroglu, with a listed address of one of
the defendants’ Smithtown Birth Houses.

In contrast to their trainings, which required Marte and Rodriguez to interview

applicants and review documents which could prove an applicant’s true residency—such as
pay stubs, mortgage payments or a lease/rental agreement—intercepted communications
establish that Marte and Rodriguez repeatedly submitted Medicaid applications based solely
on their communications with Aksakal and Kaplan. For example, a search warrant on
Aksakal’s iCloud Account, revealed the following exchange between him and Rodriguez,
which occurred on July 15, 2019:

7
To avoid confusion, pseudonyms for pregnant Turkish Aliens identified in this letter
are either the same as those used in the Indictment or follow in sequential order from those
used in the Indictment.

11
 RODRIGUEZ: Good morning I’m back to work

AKSAKAL: Good morning I send you 4 new girls

AKSAKAL: Did you get them

RODRIGUEZ: Yes I did will get them going today

AKSAKAL: Pls they waiting for the doctor app soon is you get cin pls send
me . . . .

RODRIGUEZ: Yes right away

AKSAKAL: All the adress (sic) I am going to use [address of the East
Northport Birth House]

AKSAKAL: 11731

RODRIGUEZ: For all?

AKSAKAL: Yes

Additional investigation further demonstrated Rodriguez’s close ties with

other co-conspirators, including Aksakal, Indicted Co-conspirator #1 and Cakiroglu. Like
other defendants, Rodriguez was repeatedly photographed at one of the defendants’
Smithtown Birth Houses. See Exhibit 4 (surveillance photographs). Indeed, during
surveillance conducted on or about April 9, 2019, at one of the defendants’ Birth Houses in
Smithtown, law enforcement officers observed Rodriguez meeting with Cakiroglu, the
creator and administrator of one of the defendants’ Facebook Pages, and Aksakal, the
scheme’s architect, in the Birth House’s crowded driveway. See Exhibit 4 at 3 (surveillance
photographs). During surveillance, on or about May 29, 2019, Rodriguez was observed
exiting from one of the defendants’ Smithtown Birth Houses, where several photographs
depicted Aksakal and Cakiroglu meeting with participants in the scheme, who were
obviously pregnant. See id. at 11; see also id. at 5-6, 9-10, 12.

Rodriguez’s ties to the scheme also extend to Indicted Co-conspirator #1.

According to records received from DOH, on February 6, 2019, Rodriguez submitted a
Medicaid “Identity Proofing” to DOH for Indicted Co-conspirator #1. On page two of the
“Identity Proofing,” Indicted Co-conspirator #1’s address is listed as one of the defendants’
Smithtown Birth Houses. The Identity Proofing lists Indicted Co-conspirator #1’s contact
phone number as Aksakal’s cellphone. According to DOH, Indicted Co-conspirator #1 did
not provide any income or employment information on the Medicaid application that was
submitted on her behalf. In contrast, on or about January 15, 2014, Indicted Co-conspirator
#1, a Turkish citizen, submitted a DS-160 visa application to the Department of State, in
which she claimed that she was employed as a Medical Marketing Promotional Manager,
earning approximately 36,000 Turkish lira per year. Moreover, as stated above, intercepted

12
communications demonstrated that Aksakal compensated Indicted Co-conspirator #1 for her
participation as a coordinator and promoter of the Birth Tourism scheme.

In addition, to the text messages and conversations described above, further

illustrative of Marte’s role in the submission of fraudulent Medicaid applications on behalf of
the pregnant Turkish Aliens, are March 19, 2020 intercepted text messages in which Kaplan
provided Marte with identifying information for a new Birth Tourism customer, or in Marte’s
parlance, a “new one.”

MARTE: Is this one a new one

KAPLAN: Name [a pregnant Turkish Alien whose identity is known to the United
States Attorney (“Jane Doe #5)]

KAPLAN: Yes

KAPLAN: [Birthdate omitted] 1980 birtdy [sic]

KAPLAN: Due date 5/28/2020

MARTE: Addresss [sic]

KAPLAN: [Address of the East Patchogue Birth House]

MARTE: Ok its [sic] processing it

D. Additional Overwhelming Proof of the Defendants’ Fraud

During intercepted communications, Aksakal bragged that he had bilked

Medicaid for the costs of Turkish Aliens’ pregnancies at least 100 times, a claim that is
corroborated by the investigation. See Exhibit 3. For example, in a January 25, 2020
intercepted conversation between Aksakal and “Cengiz,” who sought information about the
birth tourism scheme, Aksakal stated “when they come here I’ll do their insurance. Okay?
I’ll set them up an accommodation to stay here.” Aksakal further encouraged “Cengiz” to
talk to another “friend” of a former client “who gave birth here.” And Aksakal boasted—
credibly, it turns out—that he had “done this with exactly a hundred (100) people so far” and
that he even had his “own guy in Turkey,” who, as noted above, Aksakal identified as
Cakiroglu, “to help with the visa.” As additional intercepted communications demonstrated,
the “insurance” that Aksakal was referring to was New York State Medicaid benefits.

In a January 8, 2020 intercepted conversation between Aksakal and Kaplan,

Aksakal revealed that he was expatriating a portion of the scheme’s illicit profits to a
currently unidentified bank account located in Turkey. As Aksakal stated, “I’m going to
have the money put into the account in Turkey.” At present, the investigation has not
revealed the location of this or, possibly other, Turkish bank accounts where Aksakal and his
co-conspirators have stashed their illegal proceeds. As detailed in the Indictment, however,

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an analysis of bank records for a bank account that defendant Kaplan maintained revealed at
least four wire transfers, occurring in or about and between December 31, 2017 and April 2,
2018, that Birth Tourism clients sent Kaplan as payment for the defendants’ services.

The defendants also took steps to conceal their activities from law
enforcement. Numerous intercepted communications reveal that the defendants used the
encrypted messaging application WhatsApp to discuss scheme business. In addition,
Aksakal issued instructions directing his co-conspirators not to discuss scheme business with
anyone contacting them with a United States-based phone number and to falsely deny that
they were engaged in obtaining Medicaid benefits on behalf of pregnant Turkish Aliens. For
example, the following conversation between Aksakal and Kaplan was intercepted on or
about January 28, 2020:

AKSAKAL: Hello.

KAPLAN: What are you doing, Ibrahim [ph]?

AKSAKAL: Good. Hatun [ph]. I’m moving a house on Thursday.

KAPLAN: Yeah.

****

KAPLAN: Someone named [] or so called today. Umm, works at Stony Brook.

AKSAKAL: So?

KAPLAN: First she said, “Someone will come. For that reason, I would like to
learn prices”—

AKSAKAL: Don’t talk if anyone calls from inside the US.

KAPLAN: Look. I told her, “I mean, I”, I said, “only”, I said, “provide
transportation and accommodation,” I said.

AKSAKAL: Ha.

KAPLAN: “How are you doing the insurance,” she said. “They do it themselves,”
I said, “I don’t interfere with insurance,” I said.

AKSAKAL: You said good. Ha.

KAPLAN: Then she asked you. Asked for your number. Then she asked for, um,
who was the one whose kid was sick?

***

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 AKSAKAL: You don’t give any information to anyone on those matters.

KAPLAN: . . . . She asked for your number. If you want I’ll give you the number.
But I’m suspicious . . . .

AKSAKAL: Whoever calls from US. From inside the US. Don’t talk.

E. The Defendants’ Significant Ties to Foreign Countries, Travel Histories

and Criminal Histories

Data available to law enforcement demonstrates that defendants Aksakal,

Indicted Co-conspirator #1, Cakiroglu and Kaplan are Turkish citizens. Because the
government has been informed by the Department of Justice’s Office of International
Affairs, which handles extraditions, that Turkey will not extradite its nationals, were these
defendants to flee, the government’s opportunity to prosecute them would be irrevocably
compromised. In addition, as detailed above, during intercepted telephone communications,
Aksakal stated in substance that he maintained an as-yet unidentified Turkish bank account,
which was used to launder Birth Tourism scheme proceeds and which is presently beyond
the government’s reach.

In addition, the available travel data show that Kaplan, Indicted Co-conspirator
#1 and Cakiroglu have frequently traveled internationally, often staying overseas for
extended periods. Specifically, between August 2018 and July 2020, Cakiroglu traveled
from the United States to Turkey on two occasions and remained abroad for approximately
one and three months, respectively. In addition, on or about August 2018, Cakiroglu traveled
to Russia from the United States and did not return for approximately four months.

Similarly, on or about August 31, 2020, Kaplan traveled to Turkey, only to

return on November 21, 2020, nearly three months later. Likewise, defendant Indicted Co-
conspirator #1 departed from JFK on or about May 31, 2018 and only returned in January
2019. And between 2007 and 2019, Marte has made more than fifteen trips from JFK to the
Dominican Republic—a country that Rodriguez has also visited (in 2005)—sometimes
staying abroad for up to one month. Aksakal, the data show, last traveled to Turkey in 1999.

With respect to their criminal histories, a review of relevant records of arrests

and prosecutions demonstrates that: (i) Aksakal was convicted of Second Degree Harassment
and sentenced to a Conditional Discharge (2017); and (ii) Rodriguez was convicted of
Driving While Ability Impaired by Alcohol (2003).

ARGUMENT

I. Legal Standard for Detention

Under the Bail Reform Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3141 et seq., federal courts are
empowered to order a defendant’s detention pending trial upon a determination that the
defendant is either a danger to the community or a risk of flight. See 18 U.S.C. § 3142(e)

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 The Bail Reform Act lists four factors to be considered in the detention
analysis, whether for risk of flight or dangerousness: (1) the nature and circumstances of the
crimes charged; (2) the history and characteristics of the defendant; (3) the seriousness of the
danger posed by the defendant’s release; and (4) the evidence of the defendant’s guilt. See
18 U.S.C. § 3142(g); see also United States v. Jacobson, 502 F. App’x 31, 32 (2d Cir. 2012).
The government must support a finding of dangerousness by clear and
convincing evidence, see United States v. Ferranti, 66 F.3d 540, 542 (2d Cir. 1995), and a
finding of risk of flight by a preponderance of the evidence, see United States v. Jackson,
823 F.2d 4, 5 (2d Cir. 1987); see also United States v. Abuhamra, 389 F.3d 309, 320 n.7 (2d
Cir. 2004).
II. The Defendants Should Be Detained Pending Trial

A. The Defendants Are Dangers to the Community

Here, the evidence of the defendants’ guilt is overwhelming. The defendants

have been engaged in a wide-ranging and sophisticated Birth Tourism scheme and have
flouted this country’s immigration and health care laws since at least January 2017. That
kind of sustained dedication to fraud and deceit amply establishes that the defendants pose a
threat to the community in the form of their perpetration of additional fraudulent conduct
were they to be released. See United States v. Patel, 2020 WL 1698785, at *3 (D.N.J. Apr.
8, 2020) (“When assessing danger to the community [under the Bail Reform Act (“BRA”)],
danger may . . . encompass pecuniary or economic harm.”) (internal quotation marks
omitted) quoting (United States v. Giampa, 904 F. Supp. 235, 358 (D.N.J. 1995) and United
States v. R.G. Reynolds, 956 F.2d 192, 192 (9th Cir.1992)); see also United States v.
Madoff, 586 F. Supp. 2d 240, 253 (S.D.N.Y. 2009) (“[T]here is jurisprudence to support the
consideration of economic harm [under the BRA] in the context of detention to protect the
safety of the community.”). Accordingly, the defendants pose a significant danger to the
community because if released they are likely to continue engaging in fraud. Thus, they
should be detained pending trial.

B. The Defendants Are Flight Risks

The defendants also constitute flight risks due to their substantial foreign ties,
the seriousness of the offenses, the strength of the evidence, the severity of the penalties that
they face and the fact that the government would be unable obtain extradition were the
defendants to flee to Turkey, the country that several of the defendants are citizens of, where
defendant Aksakal has stated that he has stashed proceeds from the scheme in an unidentified
Turkish bank account, and where defendant Kaplan—who just returned to the United States
after being in Turkey for approximately two months—has stated that she owns property.

First, the nature and circumstances of the offenses charged weigh heavily in
favor of detention. The seriousness of the offenses is self-evident. Here, the defendants
engaged in a long-standing, sophisticated scheme designed to dupe the government into

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issuing fraudulently obtained visas, admitting pregnant Turkish Aliens into the country and
into paying over $2 million based upon fraudulently-obtained Medicaid benefits. Given the
substantial efforts that the defendants took to insulate themselves from liability by using a
variety of addresses and phone numbers to submit fraudulent Medicaid applications, falsely
stating in phone conversations that they were not involved in obtaining insurance for the
pregnant Turkish Aliens, and communicating through encrypted WhatsApp messages, it is
reasonable to infer that they will take similarly evasive actions and flee to avoid
responsibility for their illegal acts.

Second, the weight of the evidence against the defendants is overwhelming.

Incriminating statements obtained through intercepted communications obtained pursuant to
the Wiretaps and undercover recorded conversations, additional incriminating
communications and information seized from the defendants’ Facebook and iCloud
Accounts, along with visa and Medicaid records provide just some of the veritable avalanche
of evidence demonstrating the defendants’ guilt. Where, as here, the evidence of guilt is
strong it provides “a considerable additional incentive to flee.” United States v. Millan, 4
F.3d 1038, 1046 (2d Cir. 1993); see also United States v. Palmer-Contreras, 835 F.2d 15, 18
(1st Cir. 1987) (per curiam) (where “the evidence against defendants is strong, the incentive
for relocation is increased”); see also United States v. Choudhry, 941 F. Supp. 2d 347, 357
(E.D.N.Y. 2013) (denying bail and finding defendant a flight risk in case where defendant
was charged with visa fraud and other crimes because the defendant’s “local ties are
counterbalanced by Defendant’s equally strong ties to Pakistan.”); United States v. Solano–
Fell, 2009 WL 66071, at *2 (W.D.N.Y. Jan. 8, 2009) (defendant’s foreign citizenship, family
ties to other countries, and visits to those jurisdictions suggested “a significant risk of
flight”); United States v. Pryce, 2005 WL 464945, at *4 (W.D.N.Y. Feb. 21, 2005) (foreign
citizen with extensive ties to home country, including a child who still lived there, was a
flight risk).

Third, as mentioned above, in light of the cash nature of the defendants’ illicit
Birth Tourism business, defendant Aksakal’s statement that he has stashed scheme proceeds
in at least one unreachable Turkish bank account. Thus, it is likely that the defendants have
access to significant and heretofore unidentified assets that they could readily access to
finance their flight. These facts weighs heavily in favor of detention. See United States v.
Sabhnani, 493 F.3d 63, 76 (2d Cir. 2007). Where the amount involved in a criminal case
cannot be accurately determined, courts have erred on the side of caution and ordered the
defendants detained. See United States v. Londono-Villa, 898 F.2d 328, 329 (2d Cir. 1990)
(reversing release on bail based on flight risk where bail proposed amounted to much less
than the money potentially involved in the crime); United States v. Amico, 2006 U.S. Dist.
LEXIS 60996 (W.D.N.Y. 2006) (defendant found to be a flight risk where large amounts of
money went unaccounted for in fraud scheme); United States v. Lugo-Rios, 2006 U.S. Dist.
LEXIS 49657 (D.P.R. 2006) (defendants found to be a flight risk where the amount of
money stolen from health care fraud scheme could not be determined). The Court should
reach the same conclusion in this case.

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 Fourth, the significant term of imprisonment that the defendants face creates a
substantial incentive to flee. The possibility of a severe sentence is an important factor in
assessing a defendant’s likelihood of flight. See United States v. Jackson, 823 F.2d 4, 7 (2d
Cir. 1987); United States v. Martir, 782 F.2d 1141, 1147 (2d Cir. 1986) (defendants charged
with serious offenses whose maximum combined terms created potent incentives to flee);
United States v. Cisneros, 328 F.3d 610, 618 (10th Cir. 2003) (defendant was a flight risk
because her knowledge of the seriousness of the charges against her gave her a strong
incentive to abscond); United States v. Townsend, 897 F.2d 989, 995 (9th Cir. 1990)
(“Facing the much graver penalties possible under the present indictment, the defendants
have an even greater incentive to consider flight,”); United States v. Dodge, 846 F. Supp.
181, 184-85 (D. Conn. 1994) (possibility of a “severe sentence” heightens the risk of flight).
Here, if convicted, the government estimates that the defendants’ advisory sentencing ranges,
under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, to be at least ten years’ imprisonment.
Accordingly, the defendants have a tremendous incentive to flee.

Finally, the government’s inability to extradite the Turkish citizen defendants

from Turkey, the main place outside of the United States where the scheme operated and
where several of the defendants have significant ties, means that if those defendants were to
use their as yet unaccounted for wealth to flee to that country, the government would be
without recourse to ensure that they were brought to justice.

CONCLUSION

For the reasons set forth above, the defendants should be held without bail
pending trial.

Respectfully submitted,

SETH D. DUCHARME
Acting United States Attorney

By: /s/
Bradley T. King
Oren Gleich
Assistant U.S. Attorneys
Jeremy Glicksman
Special Assistant United States Attorney
(631) 715-7900

cc: All Defense Counsel (by ECF and E-mail)

United States Department of Pretrial Services (by E-mail)

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