CLEARWATER — The government authority that oversees ambulance service in Pinellas County has agreed to pay $163,800 to settle its part of a lawsuit that claims it took kickbacks.

The federal whistle-blower lawsuit alleges Pinellas County’s Emergency Medical Services Authority received improper payments from the Paramedics Plus, the parent company of Sunstar Paramedics, in return for awarding contracts to provide the county’s ambulance service.

The 2014 lawsuit, brought by former company executive Stephen Dean in Texas, said the kickbacks came from money Paramedics Plus collected from government health care programs that pay for health care for the poor. The suit made similar allegations against ambulance authorities in California and Oklahoma.

Federal and state authorities contend that Pinellas County’s decision to award “the exclusive ambulance services contract to Paramedics Plus was improperly influenced by Paramedics Plus’s offer and payment” of money from 2004 through September 2015,” according to the 17-page settlement.

The agreement also says “Paramedics Plus improperly offered and paid certain corporate overhead costs” to Pinellas County ambulance authority during the contract. The agreement does not list additional costs the company paid.

Craig Hare, EMS and fire administration director, said the county did not receive any additional money from that clause in the contract.

Pinellas County denied the allegations in the settlement. The agreement states it is not an admission of liability by the county.

An outside law firm, which represented the county, will brief commissioners Tuesday in a public meeting. A Sunstar official declined to comment on the settlement.

The kickbacks, according to the suit, were often referred to as “rebates,” “gain sharing” and “profits caps.” The Tampa Bay Times has previously reported that the company made a one-time payment of $35,600 to a Pinellas County EMS account in 2014. The county eliminated the provision in its 2015 contract with Paramedics Plus.

Under the agreement, the county will pay $142,400, most of which will be divided between the federal and state government. Of that, Dean will receive $14,240. Additionally, the county will pay Dean’s attorney $21,400 for legal fees

The county must also identify any other “unallowable costs” charged to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Federal authorities want the money paid back.

Contact Mark Puente at [email protected] or (727) 892-2996. Follow @MarkPuente