Lawyers for former Reditus Labs CEO Aaron Rossi are pointing to his traumatic childhood and a desire to “prove his worth to everyone” in seeking leniency from a judge sentencing him this week.
Rossi will be sentenced Tuesday on health care fraud and wire fraud charges, to which he pleaded guilty in April. It’s among the last steps in resolving multiple criminal investigations into Rossi’s alleged profiteering during the pandemic, when Pekin-based Reditus became a major player in COVID-19 testing. A federal civil lawsuit is also nearing a settlement.
Ahead of Tuesday’s sentencing, the defense lined up 53 letters of support from Rossi’s family members, friends, former employees and business leaders, court records show. His lawyer, Richard Blake, asked Chief Judge Sara Darrow to sentence Rossi to no additional prison time beyond the five years he’s already received in a separate mail and tax fraud case. He faces a maximum 30 years in prison.
Rossi has been in county jail for nearly two years, away from his wife and four daughters, Blake wrote.
“Aaron has already paid a heaving price for his actions,” Blake wrote. “Aaron is simply not a threat to the public, and no public interest is served by putting him behind bars for significantly more time than he is already serving.”
Reditus made hundreds of millions of dollars from state contracts for COVID-19 testing and brought hundreds of jobs to Pekin. Reditus had testing contracts with the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Department of Corrections. It ran the COVID testing site at Bloomington’s Interstate Center for much of the pandemic.
During that time, prosecutors and others allege Rossi was actually defrauding taxpayers and health insurance companies, in part to fund his own lavish lifestyle. In the case for which he’ll be sentenced Tuesday, Rossi was accused of using bogus billing codes to get reimbursed for work his company never did, and also double-billing the state of Illinois for work already reimbursed by private insurers.
Prosecutors also argue Rossi wasn’t even able to lawfully employ pathologists and other types of physicians because he was not a licensed physician in Illinois.
“His drive and willingness to work around the clock to make Reditus Labs the most successful and effective COVID-19 testing laboratory in Illinois also resulted in his pushing limits beyond those permitted by the federal government with regard to billing procedures,” Blake wrote.
Rossi’s lawyer said the “offense conduct” represents only a “small portion of his lab’s COVID-19 tests, specifically less than 1 percent of the total amount billed by Reditus Laboratory.”
“Aaron unconditionally takes personal responsibility for these actions,” Blake wrote.
Letters of support
The 53 letters of support document Rossi’s “life and character” by those who knew him before, during and after his professional downfall.
Several of the letter writers said Rossi’s parents’ divorce when he was 5 years old was a formative moment in his life. Rossi and his brother from that “were essentially abandoned by their dad at a very young age,” Rossi’s mother wrote in her letter.
“Aaron got in the habit of trying to outdo himself to win his father’s attention and approval, but he never seemed to succeed,” she wrote. “Sadly, I see this dynamic translating into some of his choices as an adult.”
Another close family friend wrote: “I also believe that Aaron has always felt rejected and disrespected by his father’s family, leading to a need to prove his worthiness, to be an overachiever.”
From a former manager at Reditus: “To a fault Aaron thought he had to prove his worth to everyone. No matter how much success he had, he always felt it wasn’t enough to gain the respect and approval he craved.”
The letter-writers also cited Rossi’s charitable nature, both with his employees and with community institutions. His attorney rattled off a lengthy list of charitable contributions after Rossi became wealthy during COVID, including a $100,000 donation to Bradley University’s Turner Center for Entrepreneurship, a $100,000 donation to Illinois State University Athletics for a new facility, and a $500,000 donation to Unit 5 for COVID testing.
One of the letter-writers was Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat, superintendent of Peoria Public Schools. She praised Rossi for his help building a “robust [COVID-19] testing apparatus” for Peoria Public Schools “which was one of the first downstate.” Rossi’s lawyer described that as a $2.5 million donation.
“We worked together for over a couple of years, and he was always a phone call away,” Desmoulin-Kherat wrote. “I will always remember his commitment to a marginalized population, giving them a fighting chance to thrive under pandemic conditions.”
Others in Greater Peoria also took notice.
“Aaron’s charitable actions and personal investments into community welfare are driven by a genuine attentiveness to the needs around him,” wrote Dr. John Vozenilek, vice president and chief medical officer for innovation and digital health at OSF HealthCare’s Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center. “It’s not just about financial contributions; it’s the thoughtfulness and dedication with which he engaged in those efforts.”
Rossi has also pleaded guilty to a separate criminal case — for allegedly sneaking contraband into the Peoria County jail. He's also expected to be sentenced in that case Tuesday.
Civil case nears settlement
Meanwhile, a federal civil case against Rossi is also nearing a resolution. That civil case alleged a multimillion-dollar billing fraud scheme during the COVID pandemic. It accused Rossi of using high-tech software changes and low-tech kickback schemes to become a pandemic profiteer.
That case has been pending for years. Court records show a settlement has been reached as of June 25, with a deadline of July 25 for signing off on the settlement papers.
