3 former hospital executives sentenced to prison over kickback scheme

Ayla Ellison -

Clarence Nagelvoort, the former COO of now-shuttered Sacred Heart Hospital in Chicago, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for his involvement in a kickback scheme, making him the third former executive to be sentenced to prison over the scheme, according to the FBI.

Mr. Nagelvoort received a much lighter sentence than Sacred Heart's former owner and CEO, Edward Novak, who was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison. However, the ex-COO will be doing more time the Roy Payawal, the hospital's former CFO, who received a one-year sentence.

In March, a federal jury deliberated for three days before convicting Mr. Nagelvoort, Mr. Payawal and Mr. Novak of conspiring to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks to physicians for referrals to Sacred Heart. At trial, prosecutors argued Sacred Heart reaped nearly $35 million over the 12-year kickback scheme.

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