Montco man sentenced in Medicare fraud

A Montgomery County man who bilked Medicare in an ambulance transport scheme was sentenced Thursday to time served and ordered to repay the government health insurance program for seniors more than $1.3 million.

Boris Rostovsky, 44, formerly of Bryn Athyn, pleaded guilty in August to health-care fraud. He had been in custody since his arrest in February 2011.

Federal prosecutors said that in May and June 2010, Rostovsky schemed to bilk Medicare by directing his employees to transport patients via his private ambulance company, Grey Eagle Inc.

The patients were not eligible for transport by ambulance because they could walk or sit in a wheelchair, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Morgan said in court papers.

Morgan said Rostovsky "bragged" in an undercover recording about his "prowess" to defraud Medicare.

A government informant obtained a recorded conversation with Rostovsky in August 2010 in which Rostovsky admitted he paid kickbacks to patients, falsified Medicare paperwork, provided bogus information during a Medicare audit in April 2010, and told walking patients to get on stretchers to "make it legit," Morgan said in court papers.

Defense attorney Gerald Stein said in a court filing that Rostovsky, who has a pilot's license, had a job waiting for him as a pilot from his previous employer. Stein said the job offer was verified by a letter to the court from Robert Toll, chairman of Toll Bros., the home builder.

Stein said his client had used the proceeds from the sale of a home to make a $137,000 down payment toward the $1.3 million restitution. The defense attorney said an additional $63,000 is expected to be raised from the sale of another investment property, which will close next month.

Rostovsky, who is a citizen of both the United States and Israel, had pledged as part of his plea agreement to make restitution of at least $200,000 before sentencing.

Contact Michael Hinkelman at 215-854-2656 or hinkelm@phillynews.com or follow on Twitter @MHinkelman.