On one occassion, an investigator with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says he witnessed a patient that Murfreesboro Ambulance Service claimed had to be transported using a stretcher climb unassisted into the front cab of the company’s ambulance at DCI Clinic in Murfreesboro.

Less than 15 minutes later, the ambulance stopped at a restaurant, the patient got out and returned with a bag before climbing back in and being carried home, the affidavit states.

In other instances, investigators said the company “double loaded” ambulances with one patient in the front cab and a second in the rear of the ambulance, but did not pro-rate the claim as required by Medicare.

“MAS was in effect acting as a taxi, charging the government in excess of $300 round trip to taxi an ambulatory person to a medical appointment,” stated another investigator, a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service.

Efforts to reach the Medlocks on Monday were unsuccessful. In October, the couple filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, claiming $1.7 million in liabilities against $1.3 million in assets.

Listed among the claims are a 2005 Corvette valued at $25,000 and a 2008 Harley Davidson valued at $16,000. Both are classified as “seized property” in court documents that note the claims as “disputed.”

The Medlock’s bankruptcy attorney did not return a call seeking comment.

According to the suit, Murfreesboro Ambulance Service was the fifth-highest paid ambulance provider in 2005 among 82 Tennessee ambulance providers that transported patients to and from dialysis clinics.

In 2005, dialysis transports accounted for 74 percent of Medicare payments to the company, the suit states.

Previous audits by the Department of Health and Human Services found that the majority of dialysis patients are ambulatory — meaning they can can sit upright — and do not require ambulance transport.

A study by the Office of Inspector General found that 25 percent of ambulance transports in 2002 did not meet Medicare’s program requirements, resulting in an estimated $402 million in improper payments.