Former eHealth CEO pleads guilty to charges of wire fraud and filing a false tax return

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — The former CEO of eHealth Global Technologies pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and filing a false tax return.

The Western District of New York announced the plea on Thursday.

Michael Margiotta, 50, of Rochester, was CEO of the company in May of 2011 when he signed a contract with Healthcare Network Alliance, LLC (HCNA), which was owned by his wife, for employment recruiting services.

The contract included a clause that HCNA would be compensated if candidates referred to eHealth were hired.

Prosecutors say that between June of 2011 and January of 2014, Margiotta had HCNA submit invoices for recruiting services for eHealth that he knew were never provided.

In total, he’s accused of preparing and submitting approximately 23 fake invoices totaling $380,960.

Prosecutors say he also filed a false 2013 tax return claiming that he made hundreds of thousands of dollars less than he actually made, costing the Internal Revenue Service $137,067 in lost taxes.

Margiotta is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 28. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.