Lab owner ordered to pay $26 million in COVID-19 fraud case

BALTIMORE, MD—A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland has awarded a $26 million judgment to a laboratory company and its owner accused of defrauding the federal government of millions of dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patrick Britton-Harr is the owner of Provista Health, LLC. The company is accused of offering COVID-19 testing to nursing homes as a way to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary tests. The tests were not medically necessary because the patients did not have symptoms of the virus.

Prosecutors say Britton-Harr also sold an Annapolis home he was not supposed to sell. A judge has ordered him to pay $575,000 in damages.

“The exploitation of federal health care programs designed to help the elderly and disabled during a national crisis is absolutely inexcusable,” said Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. “Regardless of their methods, we will hold accountable those who defraud such programs for personal gain,” Barron said.

Britton-Harr is also accused of taking more than $575,000 from a bank account to which he was not entitled. The government is seeking a lien on Britton-Harr.

“It is clear that Patrick Britton-Harr thought he could defraud the government by taking advantage of a global pandemic and never face the consequences. The scale of his fraud and abuse is staggering. He has taken critical resources from our healthcare system and cost taxpayers their hard-earned money,” said Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office. “This investigation proves that the FBI and our federal partners will continue to investigate and bring criminals like Britton-Harr to justice, no matter how long it takes.”

This article was written using AI and reviewed by a human editor.

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels

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