Convicted: Former VP of Healthcare Company Placed Behind Bars for $7.5M Fraud Scheme

The former Vice President of Tax for Amedisys, one of the nation’s largest home health providers, was sentenced to prison for embezzling more than $7.5 million out of the Baton Rouge-based company, reportedWAFB.

David Michael Pitts, 41, was sentenced to 4 years in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Additionally, US District Judge John deGravelles ordered Pitts to forfeit $7,641,528 in assets, and pay back $7,861,679 to Amedisys, Amedisys Political Action Committee, and Ace Westchester Chubb, according toWAFB.

“Today Mr. Pitts’ insatiable greed landed him in jail for the next 4 years,” said US Attorney Walt Green, as reported byWAFB. “He violated the trust that Amedisys placed in him for over 9 years. During this extended period, he stole over $7.5 million dollars from a company who was duped by this unscrupulous individual. I want to convey my great appreciation to the prosecutors and the FBI for their excellent work and to the victim, Amedisys, who provided valuable cooperation and support in this important matter.”

Pitts served as VP from January 2005 through July 2014 and was in charge of all corporate tax matters, which included the preparation of state and federal tax returns and the payment of state income taxes in the different states that Amedisys operated in, according to apress releaseby the United States Department of Justice.

The fraud scheme, which took place from 2006 through 2014, involved shell entities and fictitious film tax credits. According to the Department of Justice, Pitts created a counterfeit company called Stonehenge Entertainment to sell false and fictitious “Tax Credit Transfer Agreements” to Amedisys. The name was chosen because of its close resemblance to a legitimate company that Amedisys did business with, according to the release. He also created an entity called Evergreen Incentives for the same purpose.

For his own financial gain from the sale of false and fictitious tax credits to Amedisys, Pitt caused banking transfers to divert funds from an Amedisys account at JPMorgan Chase Bank to his own bank account at Capital One and Regions Bank, according to the release.

From the period of October 3, 2006 through May 16, 2014, Pitts caused Amedisys to make 21 wire transfers that totaled $7,641,528 to his own personal accounts.