Agawam resident Chester Wojcik, 49, admitted in federal court today to a cold, calculated scheme to line his pockets while putting veterans’ lives on the line. Wojcik, owner of Alliance Medical Gas Corporation, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for billing the Department of Veterans Affairs for critical medical gas inspections he never performed.
From May 29, 2014, to March 5, 2015, Wojcik generated fake invoices and inspection reports for VA hospitals in Sioux Falls, S.D., Tuskegee, Ala., and Montgomery, Ala. The fraud wasn’t just paperwork — it was a betrayal of trust. Medical gas systems feed oxygen, nitrous oxide, and compressed air directly into operating rooms and patient wards. Skipping inspections risks contamination, pressure failures, and potentially fatal outcomes.
Wojcik collected $8,981 from the VA for services his company flat-out didn’t deliver. No inspections. No safety checks. Just signatures on forged documents and payments wired through the system. The scam unraveled when federal auditors flagged irregularities in the inspection logs — logs that had been fabricated from start to finish.
U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni set sentencing for Nov. 19, 2020. The charge of wire fraud carries up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain — whichever is greater. Prosecutors will argue the crime wasn’t just financial; it endangered lives.
The case was spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, the FBI’s Boston Field Division, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elysa Q. Wan, part of the Health Care Fraud Unit, is handling prosecution — a unit known for coming down hard on those who exploit public systems.
This case exposes a chilling lapse in oversight: a single contractor falsifying safety records across multiple VA facilities with no red flags for months. Now, veterans and hospital staff are left asking — who else is cutting corners while we’re trusting them to protect us?
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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