Former COO of Illinois hospital sentenced for pocketing over $620K in hospital funds

CHICAGO - The ex-Chief Operating Officer of an Illinois hospital has been sentenced to eighteen months in federal prison for unlawfully pocketing over $620,000 in hospital funds.

Robert Spadoni, 59, of Darien, pleaded guilty earlier in the year to a charge of mail fraud.

Robert Spadoni, previously an attorney who served as Vice President and COO of the hospital, orchestrated a fraudulent scheme from 2013 to 2021. 

In this scheme, he approved payments to a vendor company, Medical Education Solutions, Inc., supposedly providing administrative and compliance services to the hospital. 

However, Spadoni had established this company himself for the sole purpose of carrying out the scheme. To conceal it, a family member of Spadoni opened a bank account in the company's name, diverting the hospital's payments into it. He further disguised the fraud by paying another hospital employee $1,500 per month in cash to perform the claimed services.

Through this deceit, Spadoni acquired around $622,500 from the hospital, which he utilized for personal expenses like restaurant bills, hotel accommodations and transferred $225,805 into a controlled 401(k) account.

Alongside the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly on Tuesday ordered Spadoni to pay $622,500 in restitution to the hospital.