A Cincinnati man and former president of an Ohio healthcare company will serve time in federal prison for scamming an Indiana-based bank out of millions of dollars.
According to reports, Harold Sosna was ordered to serve 42 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marilyn Horan on Thursday. He pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud in October of 2020. Sosna used a check kiting scheme to scam S&T Bank out of $59 million in May of 2020 by writing checks between various accounts under his control and accounts associated with the company he led, Premiere Health Care of Blue Ash, Ohio. Check kiting is where a check is drawn for a greater amount than what’s in the account and is deposited in a different account. Before the check clears the first account, the funds are immediately withdrawn from the second account. Sosna negotiated a total of 203 checks in his scheme.
On top of the prison time, Sosna will serve three years of probation. Payment of restitution was deferred until authorities have finalized an amount.
Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman said that Sosna received a long sentence that is consistent with the magnitude of the crime, and said Sosna was responsible for the largest bank fraud scheme in the region he covers.
