PHILADELPHIA—Derrick Brown, 44, of Philadelphia, PA, pleaded guilty today to an Indictment charging him with receiving kickbacks and making false statements to law enforcement, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The defendant faces a suggested sentence of up to six months in prison followed by up to three years of supervised release and must pay full restitution of $21.880.02. U.S. District Court Judge William H. Yohn, Jr. scheduled a sentencing hearing for August 31, 2015.

In July 2010, Feda Kuran, charged elsewhere, began operating Brotherly Love Ambulance, Inc. with a co-schemer. In approximately April 2011, Derrick Brown began receiving transport to dialysis by Brotherly Love, even though he could walk and could have been transported safely by means other than ambulance and was, therefore, not eligible for ambulance service under Medicare requirements. Brown accepted monthly kickbacks from Brotherly Love to induce him to continue to ride with Brotherly Love.

As a result of Brown’s actions and those of Brotherly Love, the Medicare program paid nearly $22,000 in inappropriate bills. As a result of the overall scheme at Brotherly Love, the Medicare program was billed for more than $4.9 million and paid more than $2 million in inappropriate bills. In November 2014, Feda Kuran was sentenced to 64 months in prison.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mary E. Crawley and Paul W. Kaufman.