AP/Lang
3/2/22
A suburban Chicago businessman has admitted to swindling the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and another university hospital that had sought coveted protective face masks in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
44-year-old Dennis W. Haggerty Jr. of Burr Ridge pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Chicago to wire fraud and money laundering charges. His sentencing is set for May 25.
Prosecutors say Haggerty, the onetime president of the biotechnology company At Diagnostics Inc., cheated the UIHC and Northwestern Memorial Healthcare in Chicago. The hospitals allegedly ordered one million N95 face masks, but Haggerty allegedly used some of the money for his personal benefit, including to buy two Maseratis and a Land Rover. He also allegedly wrote checks to himself and his girlfriend for cash.
When the UIHC complained that the masks were never delivered, Haggerty reportedly lied and said their payment had never been received.
When the business partner recovered from coronavirus enough to be discharged from a Florida hospital, he confronted Haggerty and told him to refund the money. Haggerty instead doctored a bank statement to make it look like the company never got paid.
At the time of his arrest Haggerty had failed to return over $2.6 million to the hospitals. He faces up to 20 years in prison.