Prosecutors say fraud proceeds bought Porsche 911, Annapolis waterfront mansion

MARYLAND (WBFF) — A Maryland business owner faces years in federal prison after a jury found him guilty of running a multimillion-dollar Medicare scheme and stealing from vulnerable nursing home residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal prosecutors said Patrick Britton-Harr, a 42-year-old Annapolis man who owned a laboratory, fraudulently billed Medicare for more than $18 million in unnecessary respiratory tests that doctors did not order or perform. The jury’s verdict followed a detailed investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the FBI.

In 2020, Britton-Harr targeted nursing homes nationwide during a time when those facilities urgently needed COVID-19 testing. After gathering specimens from residents, he billed Medicare for expensive respiratory pathogen panel (RPP) tests, claiming they were performed at his lab in Arizona. However, court documents showed doctors never requested these tests and sometimes patients had already died by the time the charges were made.

Some physicians said on the stand they had never ordered such RPP tests at any point in their careers. Prosecutors described how Britton-Harr told his employees, including interns and even a family member, to bill Medicare for RPP tests every time a COVID-19 test was performed, whether needed or not.

The company, Provista Health, pulled in $18.7 million for RPP tests in six months, with Medicare paying out more than $7.2 million. Prosecutors presented evidence that Britton-Harr continued billing for RPP tests after he closed his Arizona lab and barred staff from entering, even though the required equipment was gone.

Authorities said Britton-Harr used the fraud proceeds to buy luxury items, including a Porsche 911 for $112,500 in December 2020 and a waterfront mansion in Annapolis, where he made $25,000 monthly mortgage payments.

Britton-Harr’s Porsche 911 that he purchased in December 2020 using proceeds from his Medicare fraud scheme. (Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office)

Britton-Harr was convicted on five counts of healthcare fraud and one count of transactional money laundering. Each fraud charge could carry up to 10 years in prison. Federal sentencing guidelines and other factors will affect how much time he actually serves, with a judge set to determine sentencing at a later date.

This conviction adds to Britton-Harr’s legal troubles. In June, a federal jury also found him guilty of six counts of wire fraud involving a private-jet service scam where he deceived customers about the use of their payments.

U.S. Attorney for Maryland Kelly O. Hayes said, “Mr. Britton-Harr’s decision to exploit elderly nursing home residents and inexperienced interns for personal gain during a global pandemic is unconscionable. This verdict reinforces our message: there is nowhere to hide for those who commit fraud. We will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law,” Hayes said. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with our law-enforcement partners, remains committed to rooting out fraud and holding accountable those who exploit our vulnerable victims and who steal our taxpayer money.

FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul said, “This verdict sends a clear message: the FBI will aggressively pursue anyone who steals from American taxpayers.” Paul also pointed to Britton-Harr’s history of separate investment fraud schemes and said, “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will not rest until fraudsters like Mr.Britton Harr are brought to justice.”

The Justice Department, under President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud led by Vice President J.D. Vance, created the new Fraud Division this year to expand efforts in holding those who exploit federal benefit programs accountable. The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program has charged more than 6,200 defendants nationwide since 2007, accused of billing government and private insurers more than $45 billion combined, according to government officials.

Authorities said they have not yet scheduled the sentencing hearing for Britton-Harr.