The founder of AeroVanti, a private jet company with Sarasota ties, has been convicted of Medicare fraud in Maryland, months after a separate conviction for defrauding the company’s customers.
A federal jury found Patrick Britton-Harr guilty of five counts of health care fraud and one count of transactional money laundering, according to an Oct. 21 Justice Department news release.
Through his company Provista Health, Britton-Harr fraudulently billed Medicare $18.7 million for respiratory tests that nursing home residents did not need, physicians did not order and, in many cases, were never performed. Medicare paid more than $7.2 million, the department said.
Britton-Harr offered COVID-19 testing services to nursing homes across the country in 2020.
After specimens were collected, he billed Medicare for separate, expensive respiratory pathogen panel tests purportedly performed at his Arizona laboratory, according to the department.
He falsely claimed treating physicians had ordered those tests. Several physicians testified that they had never ordered a respiratory pathogen panel test for any patient during their careers.
The department said Britton-Harr also billed Medicare for tests supposedly performed after his laboratory closed, including tests for nursing home residents who had already died.
Britton-Harr used the proceeds to purchase a $112,500 Porsche 911 and make $25,000 monthly mortgage payments on his Annapolis waterfront mansion, according to the department.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, called his decision to “exploit elderly nursing-home residents and inexperienced interns for personal gain during a global pandemic” unconscionable.
Britton-Harr faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count. A sentencing date had not been set when the department announced the conviction.
Earlier conviction involved AeroVanti customers
The verdict follows Britton-Harr’s June conviction on six counts of wire fraud involving AeroVanti customers, according to a separate Justice Department release.
Florida corporate records list AeroVanti Inc. as the manager of AeroVanti Hangar LLC, with a Sarasota address of 7990 15th St. E. for both.
Britton-Harr owned and controlled AeroVanti and its affiliated entities, according to the Justice Department. Through the private air club, he invited “Top Gun” members to pay $150,000 upfront toward aircraft purchases in exchange for discounted flight hours.
Members collectively paid approximately $15 million toward five aircraft. Britton-Harr promised to purchase specific planes and protect members’ money by placing the aircraft titles in escrow.
Instead, he used members’ money for personal expenses, including yachts, jewelry and a $10,000-a-month rental home near Tampa, the department said.
A. Tysen Duva, then an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said Britton-Harr used his business as a front to fraudulently obtain down payments for services never provided.
Kendal Asbury is the real estate and development reporter for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Have an idea, tip or question about development? Send her an email at kasbury@usatodayco.com. Connect with her on LinkedIn or follow her on Instagram @wordsbykendal. Support local journalism by subscribing to the Herald-Tribune.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota jet club founder convicted again in $18.7M fraud
