Published Dec. 31 in the News Enterprise

Manakee does an about face

By BRIAN WALKER
News Enterprise Staff Writer

ELIZABETHTOWN — The same day that area media agencies began to question James Manakee about selling his business while under indictment, he removed it from the market.

Manakee, who said Thursday that he was selling Manakee Medical Transfer Service Inc., offered no explanation Friday as to why he was halting the sale. The only information was provided to John Hultgren, owner of the Web site www.hultgren.org, where the business had been listed since Dec. 21.

When Hultgren checked his e-mail Friday morning, there was one in all capital letters from Manakee.

"MR HULTGREN, THE AMBULANCE SERVICE WILL BE OFF THE MARKET UNTIL MARCH. JAMES MANAKEE."

The message was dated 11:18 p.m. Thursday, Hultgren said, and the ad has since been removed from the site.

Calls to Manakee and his Louisville attorney, Scott Cox, went unreturned Friday.

When prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's office in Louisville were contacted regarding the legality of the sale, they said action would likely be taken to stop it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hancy Jones III said Friday that his office had not contacted anyone by the time the ad was removed.

"I assume his attorney must have discussed the situation with him," Jones said of Manakee.

Manakee, 71, of Sonora, and two associates, Conna Bradley, 47, and Roger Hawke, 67, both of Upton, are accused of 29 counts of health-care fraud, conspiracy to commit health-care fraud and mail fraud.

If convicted on all counts, Manakee and Hawke could each get 260 years in prison and be fined $7 million. Bradley could get 255 years in prison and be fined $6.75 million.

Prosecutors alleged that the trio defrauded Medicare by submitting multiple billings for the same services and issuing bills for services that they never completed.

A trial date of Feb. 11 has been set in Louisville's U.S. District Court with Judge John Heyburn, Jones said.

Manakee said Thursday afternoon that he saw no reason to not sell the business.

"I intend to keep it for sale until they (prosecutors) tell me I can't," he said then.

Brian Walker can be reached at 769-1200, Ext. 237, or e-mail him at bwalker@mail.the-ne.com.

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