Former VA administrator gets 37 months for embezzling
CLEVELAND — A former administrator at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center was sentenced to 37 months in prison Thursday for embezzling from the facility and lying on patients’ forms to cover it up.
Senior U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent ordered William Precht, 54, of Kent to pay $1.25 million in restitution stemming from a series of schemes. Nugent also directed Precht to liquidate his assets to pay the amount.
The hearing came a day after medical sales representative Robert Vitale, 54, of South Euclid pleaded guilty to four charges involving his work with Precht.
Precht admitted in March to 28 charges that included theft of government property, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and making false statements regarding health care matters.
He told Nugent he was remorseful for what he did and thanked investigators for their professionalism. He said the crimes stemmed from a difficult time in his life.
Nugent gave Precht credit for his honesty with authorities. He said Precht would have faced a far longer sentence if he had gone to trial and been convicted.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Mcdonough said in documents that Precht’s offenses “were not isolated incidents. His schemes were rational [and] calculated.”
“As a result of a divorce, Precht succumbed to embezzling money from the VA,” the prosecutor wrote. “His conduct spanned several years, was serious, both because of its extended duration, and because of its nature, which involved a callous disregard to the VA.”
Precht began working at the medical center in 1997 as a pharmacy technician. He moved up through various jobs and became the supervisory and management analyst for surgical services in 2016.
His job involved providing administrative oversight of operating rooms, surgical intensive care and outpatient surgery, according to court records.
Precht used his purchase card from the medical center to make more than $1 million in purchases for a company that Precht had created. The transactions came from October 2010 to February 2018.
In 2011, Vitale formed Surgical Implant Innovations, a medical-supply business in South Euclid. Vitale also worked as a sales representative for other medical-supply companies, as well.
Beginning in about 2015, Precht helped Vitale get business at the VA Medical Center. In exchange, Precht received more than $32,000, as well as tickets to sporting events and future interest in Vitale’s business, according to records Mcdonough filed.
In a span of six months in 2015, Precht used his VA purchase card to make 38 purchases of more than $60,000 in surgical staples from Surgical Implant Innovations, records show.
From September 2016 to May 2018, Precht initiated or authorized 65 purchases of prosthetic devices from the South Euclid company for $165,742.
The charges said he concealed the scheme from the medical center through false and misleading information about the need to order the supplies. Precht admitted that he falsified patient records to justify purchases from the business.
The medical center fired Precht on Jan. 4, 2019.
Vitale also worked for other companies as a sales representative. Those firms obtained nearly $900,000 in business from the Cleveland VA Medical Center from 2015 to 2018, according to records Mcdonough filed.
Vitale pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud. A sentencing date has not been set. Kevin Spellacy, one of Vitale’s attorneys, said his client “has accepted full responsibility for this and looks forward to putting this behind him.”
Nugent said Precht and Vitale together are responsible for paying $193,000 of the $1.25 million in total restitution. Precht is solely responsible for the rest.
Authorities said the investigation into Precht began after a compliance officer began reviewing an allegation of wrongdoing involving Precht and Vitale. The officer spotted ongoing emails between the men and then turned the case over to the Office of Inspector General for Veterans Affairs. The office worked the case with the Cleveland FBI.
“Public corruption by VA employees erodes trust in the department and diverts taxpayer money intended for our nation’s veterans,” Gavin Mcclaren, the acting special agent in charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, said in a statement.