Nineteen residents of New York and New Jersey have been indicted and arrested for fraudulently collecting Medicaid benefits totaling more than $350,000.

The defendants face numerous charges, including welfare fraud and grand larceny for alleged actions occurring between September 2003 and this month, according to Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau.

Through the state’s “Operation Free Ride,” an investigation discovered that the 19 defendants allegedly concealed or misrepresented their places of residence, their income or their assets to receive benefits they were not entitled to.  The entire amount allegedly stolen was $353,624, according to Morgenthau’s office.

Among those indicted on falsified residency information were Ibrahim Akdemir, 41, and his brother Neil Akdemir, 48, who claimed to reside in Manhattan. The brothers allegedly used the address of a jewelry store they owned on West 47th Street when they actually reside in River Edge, N.J., according to prosecutors.

Ibrahim Akdemir received $23,015 in public health insurance benefits between 2006 and 2009, while Neil Akdemir received $12,478 in benefits between 2005 and 2008, according to Morgenthau’s office.

Also indicted were Linda Lai, 42, and her husband, Stephan Lai, 47, who claimed to reside in Manhattan, when they actually reside in Englishtown, N.J. The pair and their household fraudulently received $51,069 in benefits between 2003 and 2008 according to prosecutors.

Among others indicted on falsifying residency information were Natalya Azarova, 26, who claimed to reside in Queens, but lived in Jericho, N.Y., who fraudulently claimed $33,099 in benefits and Gurbachan Dhami, 52, and his wife, Balijinder Kaur, 35, who actually live in Levittown, N.Y., not Queens as they claimed and collected $32,380 in benefits fraudulently, according to Morgenthau’s office.

Among the eight defendants indicted on misrepresentations of their resources were Eufrocina Caluag, 57, who claimed to be unemployed, when she is actually a practicing dentist in a Bronx, N.Y., dental office. Caluag received $6,931 in benefits over a two-year period, according to prosecutors.

Brian Bomeisler, 57, claimed to earn $2,200 per month as a freelance artist, but prosecutors claim he is a well-known art instructor who travels the country giving seminars, charging up to $1,400 per person. He also owns two apartments in Soho and the Lower East Side of New York, each worth over $1 million.

Bomeisler and his household received $37, 553 in benefits between 2002 and 2008, Morgenthau’s office said.