Former Owner of Coach Transportation Company Gets Pulled Over in Medicaid Scam

New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey announced that the fugitive former owner of a Middlesex County invalid coach transportation company has been sentenced to seven years in state prison for defrauding the Medicaid program of more than $472,000.

According to Vaughn McKoy, director, Division of Criminal Justice and Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden-Brown, Genady Chulak, 48, Toronto, Canada, the former owner of GGE Impact Corporation, t/a as Medicall, was sentenced by Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Jane Bruskin Cantor to seven years in state prison and ordered to pay $944,629 in fines and restitution.

Gooden-Brown noted that Chulak was convicted on Dec. 14, 2000 by a Middlesex County jury on charges of theft by deception, corporate misconduct, and Medicaid Fraud. After the conviction, Chulak reportedly failed to appear for sentencing and Judge Cantor issued a bench warrant for Chulak’s arrest. Chulak was arrested on Dec. 30, 2004, by the Immigration and Naturalization Service as he was attempting to enter the United States from Canada.

During the jury trial, the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s Medicaid Fraud Section reportedly presented evidence that Chulak, and his wife, Elana Bilenkin, inflated mileage charges for invalid coach transportation services provided to Medicaid patients who needed such services to travel to and from doctor’s offices and other medical service provider’s offices.

Chulak was also charged with paying kickbacks to Medicaid patients for using the Medicall vans for transportation. The jury found that Chulak inflated mileage charges so that the Medicaid Program was falsely billed for inflated mileage transportation charges for Medicaid patients.

Chulak’s wife, Elana Bilenkin, 34, also of Old Bridge, pleaded guilty to Medicaid Fraud and was sentenced by Judge Cantor to four years probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.

The investigation of Chulak and the Medicall transportation company began after the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor – Medicaid Fraud Section conducted a search of Medicall’s Corporate Office, formerly located at 287 Kimble Street, Woodbridge, Middlesex County.

The Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor also seized certificates of deposit allegedly representing fraudulently obtained Medicaid money and vans that were used to transport patients.