| Anyway, you should not be too surprised by anything the Parks Department does. Look at how nice the parks are in NYC. Here are a few photos of NYC Parks to show you what I mean. If this is how they keep the parks in NYC then it is no wonder that their AED program is a train wreck. |
| MOVING ON... |
| So guess who is back in trouble...again. |
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 4, 2010
New York City Ambulance Companies Pay U.S. $2.85 Million to Resolve Claims for Fraudulent Medicare Appeals
Metropolitan Ambulance & First Aid Corp. (now known as SEZ Metro Corp.), Metro North Ambulance Corp. (now known as SEZ North Corp.) and Big Apple Ambulance Service
Inc. (formerly known as United Ambulance) have paid the United States $2.85 million to resolve false claims made to Medicare, the Justice Department announced today. The
United States stipulated to the dismissal of the False Claims Act qui tam suit against the companies, including their president, Steve Zakheim.
The United States alleged that the companies and Zakheim used, or caused the use of, falsified records to appeal a Medicare program refund demand. Medicare had
demanded the companies return millions of dollars they had been paid for medically unnecessary ambulance trips. Under Medicare rules, the companies could bill for these
expensive non-emergency transports only if the patient could not be transported by any other means, such as by car or by wheelchair van. Medicare audited the companies’
past billings and concluded that the companies had charged Medicare tens of millions of dollars for ambulance trips that did not meet this standard. Medicare demanded a
refund and afforded the companies an extensive informal and formal appeals process to prove that their billings were proper.
The government contended that, rather than contesting the refund demand fairly, the companies resorted to fraud when they could not otherwise prove an ambulance was
medically needed. According to the suit, in their ensuing appeals, the companies used, and Zakheim caused the use of, hundreds of letters attesting to the need for an
ambulance that were forged or otherwise purported to come from some neutral, disinterested health care provider when they in fact did not.
"Those who benefit from Medicare must play by the rules," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. "We will diligently
protect taxpayer dollars from those who use fraud and deceit to take advantage of federal health care programs."
"Healthcare providers who seek to defraud the Medicare program by submitting false documents will be vigorously pursued and held accountable for their fraud," said U.S.
Attorney Loretta E. Lynch.
This action was originally filed by Larry Kaplan, a former Chief Financial Officer for one of the companies, under the False Claims Act. The qui tam, or whistleblower,
provisions of the Act permit private citizens to file suit on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. Mr. Kaplan’s share of the settlement announced today will be
$618,450.
The investigation, litigation, and resolution of these allegations resulted from a coordinated effort by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
Eastern District of New York, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The suit is United States ex rel. Kaplan v. Metropolitan Ambulance & First-Aid Corp. et al., Civil Action No. 00-3010 (E.D.N.Y.).
This settlement is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice
Department has used to recover approximately $3 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
10-662
Civil Division
| Yep. That's right. This is another one of Rudy's "friends" This is far from the first time that Zakheim has been in major trouble with the law. Somehow despite all his convictions and all of his in and out of court settlements, for all types of criminal charges and civil lawsuits, he still managed to hold a Paramedic licence in NYS. He still has a seat at REMSCO. Why? Why would REMSCO allow anyone with this kind of background and history to have a seat is beyond me. I just don't get it. How is he allowed to have anything to do with healthcare in NYS? I guess justice isn't black and white...Justice in NYS is green. What is someones soul worth? That is the question I have for REMSCO and The NYS Buearu of Emergency Medical Services. After all of this how is he still is involved in healthcare in NYC and NYS? Sad. Very sad. |
| NYPD COMMISSIONER KELLY TOUTS HIGH TECH SECURITY FOR MANHATTAN |
| Last month NYPD Commissioner Kelly showed off examples of high-tech equipment during a speech at the Association for a Better New York, including a system that allows officers to scan security footage for specific details — like the color of a suspect’s hat. The equipment is part of the Lower Manhattan Security initiative, a network of cameras aimed at monitoring suspicious activity. The technology is already being used in some parts of the network. The department is also making progress on the Midtown Security Initiative, a network of cameras that is expected to be monitoring upper Manhattan by 2013. Sounds good right? Maybe a little better than the hot dog vendor security system that alerted the NYPD when a terrorist tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square not long ago. |
| Right after Commissioner Kelly's meeting, a criminal conned his way into NYPD Police Headquarters and stole two laptops and seven BlackBerry's off a NYPD lieutenant's desk, right down the hall from the Commissioner's office. Yeah...The NYPD is on the ball. Remember it is hard to stop people from bypassing the security checkpoint when they are sleeping. |