CLIFTON, N.J. — A man was convicted for illegally operating an ambulance company despite being banned from participating in federal health care programs.
In 2004, Imadeldin Awad Khair was restricted from participating in federal health care programs for 11 years after being charged with health care fraud, tax evasion and money laundering.
Instead, he opened K&S Invalid Coach using his brother’s name, and used the ambulance service to generate more than $9 million in claims from Medicare and Medicaid.
According to records pulled by the Daily Voice, Khair would collude with business associates and employees to turn in fraudulent wage records. K&S employees were told not to report working more than 80 hours in a two-week period, and timekeeping records were altered to match the phony payroll data.
“Khair also used fraudulent pay stubs provided by his business associate to convince authorities that he was not violating the terms of his exclusion,” said U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
Khair regularly asked his workers to lie about his role at K&S. One group text recovered by prosecutors urged employees to tell authorities Khair’s brother was the one in charge of the company.
“In addition, on the first day of trial, Khair tried to influence a government witness just outside of the courtroom by claiming that he had over two dozen employees who were going to testify that his brother had really been in charge at K&S,” Fishman said.
Fishman credited agents from the FBI, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the IRS for their work in the investigation.