Co-Owner Of Medical Transport Company Gets 5 Years For Fraud

CHICAGO - The co-owner of a Chicago-based medical transport company who was convicted of overbilling Medicaid has been sentenced to five years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution.

Gregory D. Toran, 68, was convicted of conspiracy and seven counts of mail fraud following a bench trial before Judge Sue Myerscough, according to the U.S. Attorney's office for the Central District of Illinois. 

Toran's co-defendant, 44-year-old Tina Kimbrough, was previously sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud and making false statements.

Kimbrough and Toran owned IBT Transportation, a non-emergency medical transport company. Prosecutors claimed that between December 2005 and June 2011, IBT overbilled the state's Medicaid program out of about $4.7 million.

IBT billed the state for deceased people and for people they had not transported, prosecutors said. They "billed based on the dates patients were approved for transportation, whether they rode or not, even though the route sheets showed who was transported daily."

They also billed for more riders than they could physically transport, prosecutors said. Toran also incorrectly billed for mileage: charging mileage for all riders, and sometimes for every fourth rider, even though transportation providers could only charge for the first rider.

Judge Myerscough sentenced Toran to five years in prison Monday, according to a statement from prosecutors. He was also ordered to pay $4.7 million in restitution.

Toran, of Hazel Crest, will remain free on bond until the Federal Bureau of Prisons directs him to self-report to begin his sentence.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2017. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)