A former director at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Broward Health was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for his role in a bribery conspiracy, the U.S. Justice Department said Aug. 12.
Brian Bravo, the former corporate procurement officer and director of materials management at Broward Health, pleaded guilty in June to accepting kickbacks from vendors and a consultant in exchange for awarding them lucrative contracts.
In his role as procurement director, Mr. Bravo was responsible for deciding which vendors would provide Broward Health with products and services, including healthcare products, linens, compression sleeves and printer repair.
According to prosecutors, Mr. Bravo used his role to orchestrate a bribery and kickback scheme between 2008 and 2015 that involved four vendors. During his change of plea hearing, Mr. Bravo admitted to accepting $427,000 in kickback payments from two vendors and a consultant for two more vendors in exchange for awarding them contracts.
In addition to the prison sentence, Mr. Bravo was ordered to forfeit $427,000.