Owner of Brotherly Love Ambulance Charged in $2 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme |
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Topics: Brotherly Love Ambulance
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
April 4, 2013
PHILADELPHIA—Feda Kuran, 37, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged today in an information alleging a health care fraud scheme that involved billing Medicare for ambulance services that were not medically necessary, that were not actually provided, or that were induced by illegal kickbacks. As a result, the Medicare program paid more than $2 million for the inappropriate bills. Kuran is charged with health care fraud and violating the Anti-Kickback Statute, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
The information alleges that, in July 2010, the defendant began operating Brotherly Love Ambulance Inc. with a co-schemer. Kuran, or others acting at her direction, allegedly transported patients by ambulance when those patients could have been transported safely by other means and were, therefore, not eligible for ambulance service under Medicare and Medicaid requirements. It is further alleged that the defendant and others billed ambulance services for patients who were transported by Brotherly Love employees in personal vehicles or who drove themselves or took public transportation to their destinations. In addition, it is alleged that the defendant and other employees paid kickbacks to some patients to induce them to allow Brotherly Love Ambulance Inc. to transport them and paid other patients so that the ambulance company could use those patients’ information to bill for transportation that Brotherly Love Ambulance never actually provided. Finally, it is alleged that the defendant received kickbacks from other ambulance companies to refer patients to the other ambulance companies.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison, six years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, a $200 special assessment, and an order of restitution and forfeiture. The amount of forfeiture is currently estimated at over $2 million.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew J.D. Hogan and Paul W. Kaufman.
An information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.