Patrick Britton Harr was convicted on five counts of healthcare fraud and one count of transactional money laundering.
AeroVanti founder Patrick Britton-Harr, who a federal jury convicted earlier this year in connection with a private jet membership fraud scheme, has now been found guilty of defrauding Medicare of millions of dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A federal jury in Maryland convicted the 42-year-old Annapolis resident of five counts of healthcare fraud and one count of transactional money laundering.
The verdict follows a separate June 2026 conviction on six counts of wire fraud involving a private jet service scheme.
AeroVanti members and vendors allegedly lost as much as $50 million, according to a former CEO.
In the latest case, prosecutors said Britton-Harr fraudulently billed Medicare $18.7 million for respiratory tests that nursing home residents did not need and that physicians never ordered.
In many cases, laboratories allegedly never performed the tests.
Medicare paid more than $7.2 million of those claims.
According to the Department of Justice, Britton-Harr used the proceeds to finance an extravagant lifestyle.
That included purchasing a $112,500 Porsche 911 and making $25,000 monthly mortgage payments on his waterfront mansion (pictured) in Annapolis, Maryland.
The healthcare fraud scheme began in 2020.
It came as nursing homes across the United States struggled to obtain COVID-19 testing services during the early months of the pandemic.
Britton-Harr offered testing services to nursing homes.
His company collected specimens from residents and obtained specimens from other laboratories conducting COVID-19 testing.
However, prosecutors said he used those specimens to generate fraudulent Medicare claims for more expensive respiratory pathogen panel tests.
The tests, commonly called RPP tests, screen for more than 30 respiratory pathogens.
Through his company, Provista Health, Britton-Harr submitted claims for RPP testing that he purportedly conducted at a laboratory he owned in Arizona.
Prosecutors said Britton-Harr falsely represented that treating physicians had ordered the extensive tests.
During the trial, several physicians testified that they had never ordered an RPP test for any patient throughout their medical careers.
The government said Britton-Harr generated $18.7 million in fraudulent claims over just six months.
According to evidence presented at trial, Britton-Harr also recruited inexperienced employees to carry out the billing scheme.
Those employees included a family member and high school- and college-aged interns.
Prosecutors said he directed the employees to submit a Medicare claim for an RPP test every time the company performed a COVID-19 test.
The fraudulent billing continued even after Britton-Harr closed his Arizona laboratory.
According to prosecutors, he barred employees from working at the facility and no longer possessed the equipment necessary to perform the tests.
Nevertheless, his company continued submitting claims for testing supposedly performed at the closed laboratory.
Investigators also uncovered claims for tests that never occurred, including tests supposedly performed on nursing home residents who had already died.
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Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, criticized Britton-Harr for exploiting vulnerable nursing home residents and inexperienced employees.
“Mr. Britton-Harr’s decision to exploit elderly nursing-home residents and inexperienced interns for personal gain during a global pandemic is unconscionable,” Hayes said.
She added, “This verdict reinforces our message: there is nowhere to hide for those who commit fraud. We will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
Jimmy Paul, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, pointed to Britton-Harr’s previous investment fraud conviction.
“In addition to this healthcare fraud scheme, Britton-Harr was previously convicted for investment fraud in which the FBI uncovered a separate scheme where he defrauded private citizens,” Paul said.
“This verdict sends a clear message: the FBI will aggressively pursue anyone who steals from American taxpayers,” he added.
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The latest verdict marks Britton-Harr’s second federal jury conviction this year.
He is currently seeking a new trial.
Britton-Harr was convicted on six counts of wire fraud in early June for his actions at AeroVanti.
He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison per count.
The healthcare fraud case adds six more federal convictions.
Britton-Harr faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each count in the healthcare fraud and money laundering case.
However, federal judges generally impose sentences below statutory maximums after considering sentencing guidelines and other factors.
The court has not yet announced a sentencing date for the latest conviction.
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Before his AeroVanti trial and conviction, Britton-Harr had been seeking to restart the private flight company.
He had allied with Texas-based charter operator, PlaneSmart.
He was also involved in the platform BrixleyXchange.
Earlier this year, his brother Troy Britton-Harr was identified as running PlaneSmart.
Patrick Britton-Harr had announced the partnership with PlaneSmart at the beginning of the year.
In an email seen by Private Jet Card Comparisons, the AeroVanti CEO wrote, “After a year of providing brokered flight options to members and servicing Top Gun Member Flight Credits successfully, AeroVanti has now structured a strategic alliance with PlaneSmart Aviation (and) Clear Star Aviation to handle all client hospitality, flight requests, scheduling, operations, and aircraft maintenance out of Addison, Texas.”
Longtime PlaneSmart CEO Michael Brosler departed shortly after the announcement.
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