$2M Toms River Lawsuit Claims Silverton EMS Didn't Pay For 24K Gallons Of Gas
TOMS RIVER, NJ — Toms River Township has filed a lawsuit against Silverton EMS and its president alleging the squad did not pay for 24,000 gallons of gasoline it got from the town and did not share money it received in insurance reimbursements with the township.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 21, also alleges Kevin Geoghegan, the squad's president, filled his personal vehicle from the town's gasoline supplies.
The lawsuit demands more than $2 million in damages, including a reimbursement for the fuel consumed and for money Toms River was to receive under a shared services agreement in triple the amount of the estimated loss. It also demands the squad be stripped of its tax-exempt status.
"It's in the attorney's hands," Geoghegan said by phone Monday.
Geoghegan also addressed the town's claim that he had fueled his own vehicle at the pumps at the Toms River Township Municipal Utilities Authority property, where Toms River vehicles are fueled:
"If you're saying I'm putting fuel in my personal vehicle, please sign a criminal complaint against me," he said, referring to township officials.
The suit is the latest salvo in a fight between the township mayor, Daniel Rodrick, and Geoghegan that has been going on for years.
Rodrick and Geoghegan were at odds persistently when Geoghegan served as president of the Township Council. Geoghegan was ousted from the council last year when Rodrick and his running mates won the Republican primary in June 2023.
In March, Geoghegan ran for the Republican nomination for the Ward 2 council seat Rodrick had held, but Geoghegan lost to William Byrne. Byrne had been a Democrat until not long before his candidate's petition for the Republican nomination was filed in March.
In July, Rodrick ordered a halt to dispatching Silverton EMS to emergencies in Toms River, alleging "financial irregularities" that were "potentially criminal" and said the matter had been referred to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
Geoghegan said that as of Nov. 1, the squad has not been contacted by investigators from any agency at any level, including the prosecutor's office, the New Jersey Attorney General's office, New Jersey State Police or federal authorities.
Geoghegan served the township with a tort claim notice in August over the "potentially criminal" claim and alleging Silverton EMS had been targeted because squad officials had reported potentially fraudulent Medicare billing by the township, according to a copy of the notice provided to Patch.
The squad, which was paying its emergency medical technicians, laid off 30 people after Toms River stopped dispatching the squad, but the squad organization continues to operate, including renting out the squad's building for events.
The lawsuit alleges that under a shared services agreement approved in 2019, Silverton EMS would allow Toms River to handle all billing to insurance and Medicaid for EMS services, and in return the township would turn over 80 percent of the "load fee" — the charge for transporting a patient — to the squad, with the town keeping 20 percent.
Silverton EMS was to receive the mileage charges in full, and was to pay for its own fuel, repairs and equipment and supplies.
The township also was supposed to turn over Silverton EMS's share of the payments within 30 days of receiving the payments and provide monthly billing statements, under the agreement.
Sometime in 2021, Silverton EMS switched to directly billing insurance and began keeping 100 percent of the load fees, the lawsuit says, in violation of the shared services agreement that had an automatic annual renewal.
The lawsuit estimates the squad failed to turn over approximately $750,000 in payments from patients' insurance from 2021 through 2024.
Five of the eight counts in the lawsuit directly address Geoghegan, accusing him of interfering in the contract between the squad and the town, and accusing him of official misconduct.
The lawsuit was filed for the township by attorney Donald F. Burke. Burke was hired by the township in May to lead its litigation against the state of New Jersey in connection with the natural resources settlement agreement approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection, who had represented Rodrick in a personal matter against the Middletown Township Board of Education.
Kevin Starkey is representing Silverton EMS, Geoghegan said.
