A federal judge in Illinois has formally accepted a plea agreement in a case that charged Siemens Medical Solutions of Malvern, PA, with procurement fraud in trying to obtain a radiology equipment contract that required minority participation.
Federal prosecutors charged Siemens, two Siemens employees, and a joint-venture business partner with setting up a "sham" joint venture in order to win a $49 million contract at Stroger Hospital in Cook County, IL. Federal investigators initiated the lawsuit after Siemens competitor GE Healthcare of Chalfont St. Giles, U.K., filed a civil lawsuit challenging the contract.
Siemens and federal prosecutors in February announced a plea deal in which Siemens agreed to pay a $2.5 million fine and plead guilty to a single count of obstruction of justice in connection with statements made by Siemens employees during the trial. The other charges were dropped in connection with the deal.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge John W. Darrah formally accepted the plea agreement as part of the sentencing phase of the case. The action concludes the case against Siemens, and the company is supposed to pay the fine this week, according to a spokesperson for the court.
Also this week, Faust Villazan, who operated Faustech Industries, the joint-venture partner in the case, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud in connection with the case. Villazan is scheduled to be sentenced in September, and could receive a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, according to the spokesperson.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
May 24, 2007
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