Ex-Mercyhealth VP sent to prison in $3M fraud scheme. Here's what the judge said
A former Mercyhealth vice president was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for conspiring with an Illinois man to steal more than $3 million from the hospital network.
Barbara Bortner, 57, was ordered to spend 3 1/2 years behind bars during a sentencing hearing in Madison, Wisconsin.
The sentence comes after Bortner pleaded guilty last October to wire fraud and tax evasion.
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At the time of the offenses, Bortner was working in Janesville as a vice president of marketing and public relations for Mercyhealth.
Mercyhealth is a regional health system with seven hospitals including Javon Bea Hospital—Riverside, Javon Bea Hospital—Rockton and Van Matre Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital, all in Rockford.
Federal investigators alleged that between 2015 and 2020, Bortner conspired with Ryan Weckerly in a kickback scheme by submitting inflated invoices to his Sycamore, Illinois, company, MorningStar Media Group. In return, Weckerly wrote more than 103 checks worth nearly $2.1 million to Bortner and provided her with cash kickback payments of more than $1 million.
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. District Judge William M. Conley described the kickback scheme as a "very substantial crime” motivated by Bortner’s greed.
"Bortner earned a very generous salary at Mercyhealth and had no pressing need for the money she stole," the release states. "Rather than stop the scheme after she became aware of the IRS investigation, Bortner essentially 'doubled down' and continued to receive payments from Weckerly."
Weckerly pleaded guilty last November to charges of wire fraud and filing a false tax return. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 17.
Jim Hagerty: jhagerty@rrstar.com; @jimhagerty
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Barbara Bortner sent to prison in $3M Mercyhealth fraud scheme
