PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia EMT at Brotherly Love Ambulance was charged with health care fraud after he allegedly transported patients who were not eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, and gave patients envelopes of cash to convince them to take the ride.
The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that Neel Jackson, 35, “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,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He also allegedly received payments for referring patients to the ambulance company.
This is not the first scandal to hit Brotherly Love Ambulance. In April 2013, owner Feda Kuran, 37, pleaded guilty to health care fraud that also involved billing Medicare for ambulance services that were not medically necessary, which cost the program more than $2 million for the inappropriate bills.