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Fraudster Used Medicare Funds for Mansion, Porsche
24 Oct
Summary
- A jet club founder was convicted of Medicare fraud.
- He billed Medicare $18.7 million for unneeded tests.
- Fraud proceeds funded luxury items like a Porsche and mansion.
Patrick Britton-Harr, founder of the Sarasota-linked private jet company AeroVanti, has been convicted of defrauding Medicare. A federal jury found him guilty on five counts of health care fraud and one count of transactional money laundering. His company, Provista Health, fraudulently billed Medicare $18.7 million for respiratory tests that nursing home residents did not need. Medicare paid over $7.2 million for these unnecessary or unperformed tests.
Britton-Harr's scheme involved offering COVID-19 testing services and then billing Medicare for separate, expensive respiratory pathogen panel tests. He falsely claimed physicians had ordered these tests. The department noted he even billed for tests performed after his laboratory had closed or for deceased residents. The fraudulently obtained funds were used for personal luxuries, including a $112,500 Porsche and $25,000 monthly mortgage payments on his Annapolis mansion.
This conviction marks a second for Britton-Harr. In June, he was convicted of six counts of wire fraud related to AeroVanti customers. He had collected approximately $15 million from members for aircraft purchases, promising to place titles in escrow, but instead used the money for personal expenses. He faces significant prison time, with a sentencing date yet to be set.
