CHICAGO — A shocking case of corporate greed has come to an end in the Northern District of Illinois. Dennis W. Haggerty, Jr., the former Chief Operating Officer of a suburban Chicago company that sold Covid-19 testing kits, has been sentenced to six years and five months in federal prison for embezzling more than $1.85 million in company funds.
The scheme unfolded in 2021 and 2022, while Haggerty was on pre-trial and pre-sentencing release for an earlier fraud scheme. During this time, he issued fraudulent payments from the company’s bank account for services and goods purportedly provided by himself or the company’s main vendor, a manufacturer from whom the company purchased Covid-19 testing kits. In reality, the services and goods had not been provided. The money purportedly sent to the testing-kit supplier was wired to a bank account that Haggerty controlled, and he spent the funds for his personal benefit.
In addition to the wire transfers, Haggerty issued checks drawn from the company’s bank account to himself, knowing that he would spend the money for his personal benefit. He concealed his fraud by making false and misleading statements on the checks and to the company’s president.
The total amount of embezzled funds is a staggering $1.85 million, which Haggerty misappropriated over the course of two years. His actions demonstrate a brazen disregard for the law and a blatant disregard for the trust placed in him as a corporate executive.
Haggerty, 48, of Burr Ridge, Illinois, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a wire fraud charge and admitted that he committed the offense while on pre-trial and pre-sentencing release. U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey handed down the sentence on Thursday, marking the latest chapter in Haggerty’s downward spiral.
Haggerty must serve the sentence after completing his federal sentence for the earlier fraud scheme. In the prior case, Haggerty pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges for swindling hospitals that had paid him millions of dollars for scarce personal protective equipment in the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. He was sentenced in December 2022 to nearly five years in federal prison.
The recent sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI, and Mario Pinto, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney L. Heidi Manschreck.
The case highlights the importance of corporate accountability and the need for executives to be held responsible for their actions. As Haggerty begins his 82-month prison sentence, the community can take comfort in knowing that justice has been served.
Haggerty’s sentence serves as a reminder that embezzlement and fraud will not be tolerated in the Northern District of Illinois. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement agencies will continue to work tirelessly to bring perpetrators to justice and protect the public trust.
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Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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