Ambulance Company Driver Sentenced to Prison

PHILADELPHIA—Valeriy Davydchik, 59, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to defraud Medicare involving Penn Choice Ambulance Inc., located in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania and Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. On April 9, 2013, the defendant, Anna Mudrova, Yury Gerasyuk, Mikhail Vasserman, Irina Vasserman, Aleksandr Vasserman, Khusen Akhmedov, and Penn Choice Ambulance Inc. were indicted and charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and related charges. All defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing before U.S. District Court Judge Juan R. Sánchez.
From September 2009 through January 2013, Penn Choice transported patients who were able to walk and could travel safely by means other than ambulance and who, therefore, were not eligible for ambulance transportation under Medicare requirements. Penn Choice falsified reports to make it appear that the patients needed to be transported by ambulance. Penn Choice billed Medicare for these medically unnecessary services. As a result, Penn Choice caused Medicare to pay more than $1.5 million based on these fraudulent claims. Defendant Davydchik joined Penn Choice in 2011 as an ambulance driver. He transported patients who walked to and from the ambulance and often drove patients to medical appointments in his personal vehicle. Penn Choice submitted claims to Medicare for ambulance transport for these patients. Defendant Davydchik also falsified records and delivered kickback payments to Medicare beneficiaries to induce them to be transported by Penn Choice ambulance, even though such transport was not medically necessary.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Juan R. Sanchez ordered defendant Davydchik to pay restitution to Medicare and imposed a three-year term of supervised release after imprisonment. The court also ordered the forfeiture of any assets traceable to the offense, and in lieu of assets, a money judgment against the defendant of $870,310.14.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney M. Beth Leahy.