A former Optum employee will pay $13 million in restitution for his role in a multimillion dollar fraud scheme.
According to a Nov. 9 news release from the Justice Department, Luke Steiner, who worked for Optum from 2013 to 2019, was sentenced to serve two years of probation in addition to the restitution payments. Mr. Steiner previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud.
Mr. Steiner conspired with former ValueWise CEO Michael Mann, who was sentenced to serve 12 years in prison for running a complex fraud scheme to deceive banks into loaning money to his companies. Mr. Mann was ordered to pay more than $100 million in restitution.
Mr. Steiner admitted to creating fake invoices that appeared valid and payable by Optum to Mr. Mann's companies, to entice banks to loan the companies cash. Mr. Steiner's role in the conspiracy cost $12.9 million to two financing companies, according to the Justice Department. He was also ordered to repay $11,300 to the federal government, the total value of Amazon gift cards Mr. Mann paid Mr. Steiner for his role in the scheme.
Becker's has reached out to Optum for comment and will update this article if more information becomes available.