A former Pasco resident has been ordered to pay nearly $170,000 in restitution to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland and two other hospitals in Washington state after pleading guilty to wire fraud.
Denis Tkachuk, 28, also was sentenced to three years probation and to pay a $1,000 fine. He has agreed to forfeit to the federal government nearly $170,00 he made through fraud in addition to paying restitution.
He used his jobs at the three hospitals in Olympia, Seattle and Richland servicing and repairing medical equipment to obtain and sell equipment and supplies, mostly on eBay, according to court documents.
He stole equipment and supplies and also ordered unneeded equipment that he would then sell, mostly on eBay, according to court documents in the case prosecuted in Western Washington U.S. Court.
From January 2016 through the summer of 2017 Tkachuk began stealing or over-ordering medical equipment and supplies to sell, according to court documents.
He posted photos on eBay and sent invoices with his personal email accounts and received money initially through PayPal and Zelle. Later he would receive cash payments through the mail.
He next worked at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, continuing to sell stolen goods through early 2018.
His fraud was discovered at his next job, when he worked at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia for about 10 months.
There he was allowed to make purchases costing up to $5,000 until a large amount of missing equipment was discovered in a review of inventory.
From October 2018 to July 2019, Tkachuk stole 71 thermometers, 595 thermometer probes, 183 finger sensors and 180 otoscope heads used for examining ears. Together they were valued at about $108,000.
He ordered 471 items during that time, compared to the 71 items ordered by the biomedical technician who ordered the second most, according to court documents.
Hospital staff reported concerns to police, and Tkachuk was fired, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Western Washington.
An investigation relied on Tkachuk's emails, bank accounts, photos he posted on eBay and hospital records.
The prosecution did not ask U.S. Judge Robert J. Bryan for prison time for Tkachuk, citing his cooperation during the investigation and his personal situation.
Tkachuk's attorney said in a court document that Tkachuk had come to the United States from the Ukraine as a child.
At the time of the fraud he was supporting his own family and his recently divorced mother-in-law and her seven younger children, who had moved in with his family, according to defense attorney Nancy Tenney.
Tkachuk stopped the theft well before he was criminally charged and has been haunted by his conduct, according to Tenney. Currently, he is the sole provider and caretaker for his two children.
In court documents Assistant U.S. Attorney Hillary Stuart said that Tkachuk would be able to continue to work and support his family while being monitored on probation.
"These types of clandestine medical theft cases must be punished," she said. "They do a significant amount of harm to the medical system. ... It is vital the defendant receives some sentence for his crimes."
Selling the equipment for his own profit "caused loss to the hospitals, excess work for the individuals responsible for maintaining the stock and the unavailability of vital medical devices when needed by physicians," she said.
