AP/Hunter edit
12/21/22
A suburban Chicago businessman who swindled the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics during the early days of the pandemic has been sentenced to federal prison.
Dennis Haggerty Jr. of Burr Ridge pleaded guilty earlier this year to wire fraud and money laundering charges for taking more than 2 ½ million dollars from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Northwestern Memorial Healthcare in Chicago.
Haggerty’s business took money the hospitals sent for coveted N95 protective face masks and used it for his personal use. Most of it was spent on personal credit cards and luxury cars.
US District Judge John Kness sentenced Haggerty to 57 months in prison. He also was ordered to repay the nearly $2 million that he owes to the two hospitals. The judge called Haggerty’s creation of phony billing records and repeated attempts to blame the fraud on two business partners “nothing short of contemptible.”
Despite admitting to making mistakes, Haggerty told the judge at sentencing that he believes himself to be a decent man.