Serge Sivchuk, 27, owner of Advantage Medical Transport, Inc. in Harrisburg pleaded guilty Wednesday on 14 counts of false statements in health care matters for reporting fake Medicare claims, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The indictment states that between January 2009 and June 2011, Sivchuk and Advantage submitted hundreds of claims for the non-emergency transportation of Medicare beneficiaries. The patients were ambulatory and the ambulance transports were not necessary, officials said.
David Paul of York, who worked as an EMT and company dispatcher, also was charged with conspiracy and 14 counts of false statements in health care matters. Paul pleaded guilty August 22, 2012 and was sentenced on Dec. 19 to two years probation. Paul also was ordered to pay $2,939.27 in restitution.
The total loss to Medicare was $740,000, officials said. Sivchuk is awaiting sentencing and the completion of a pre-sentence report.