Charges Filed in Health Care Fraud Scheme
U.S. Attorney’s Office February 10, 2011 |
PHILADELPHIA—An indictment was unsealed today charging Ivan Tkach with health care fraud, and charging Tkach, Alla Sivchuk, and Ilya Sivchuk with false statements relating to health care matters, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger, FBI Special Agent in Charge George C. Venizelos, and Department of Health and Human Services Special Agent in Charge Nick DiGiulio, with the Office of Inspector General. The defendants were arrested this morning.
According to the indictment, the charges arose out of the defendants’ operation of Advantage Ambulance Company, and Tkach’s scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare by transporting patients by ambulance who were able to walk or travel by paratransit van. In addition, the indictment alleges that Tkach was excluded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from providing services under the Medicare Program due to his prior criminal convictions, yet continued to operate Advantage Ambulance Company with the knowledge of Alla and Ilya Sivchuk, and that all three defendants made false statements regarding the nature of Tkach’s employment.
INFORMATION REGARDING THE DEFENDANTS
NAME | ADDRESS | AGE OR YEAR OF BIRTH |
Ivan Tkach | Philadelphia, PA | 29 |
Alla Sivchuk | Newtown, PA | 45 |
Ilya Sivchuk | Newtown, PA | 47 |
If convicted, defendant Ivan Tkach faces a maximum possible sentence of 105 years in prison; defendants Alla and Ilya Sivchuk face a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Morgan-Kelly.
An indictment or information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.