Aaron Rossi Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Defrauding Bloomington Doctors

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Calling his actions greedy and shameful, a federal judge sentenced former biotech whiz Aaron Rossi to five years in federal prison.

Chief Federal District Judge Sara Darrow said the actions of Rossi, 40, went beyond simply taking money. They violated the trust of those around him. This was theft, pure and simple, she said.

In addition, the judge fined him $1 million and ordered him to pay $2.12 million in restitution to the Bloomington doctors, the IRS and the state of Illinois.

Rossi, dressed in the orange jumpsuit of a Peoria County Jail inmate, spoke to the judge in a choked voice, saying the last 10 months he had spent in the county jail had been the hardest of his life. He said his family needed him and asked to be released on time.

But Darrow said no, because that wouldn't take into account everything he had done over the years.

She noted, as did federal prosecutors, that Rossi lied for years and took money not to put food on his table or feed his children. Rather, it was for his lavish lifestyle, which the judge said was unnecessary.

Darrow, like prosecutors, noted that Rossi was well paid and trusted by doctors. He abused that trust and more. He prescribed drugs more than two dozen times when he wasn’t licensed to do so and held himself out as a doctor when he wasn’t.

This story will be updated.

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PEORIA — After nearly 90 minutes of arguments, debates and legal decisions, it was almost time to hear from Aaron Rossi himself.

U.S. District Chief Judge Sara Darrow took a brief recess at 3:30 p.m., with a statement from Rossi to come when the court reconvenes around 3:45 p.m. Shortly thereafter, Darrow will decide Rossi's fate.

Federal prosecutors want Rossi, the former biotech whiz who was the face of COVID-19 testing through his company, Reditus Laboratories, to serve five years in federal prison for fraud related to a surgical procedure in Bloomington where Rossi worked as an office manager.

His own attorney, Robert Blake, argued that he should simply be allowed to return home after spending 10 months in Peoria County Jail, saying he had served his time and could better help people by being in the community.

Rossi, 40, pleaded guilty in February to mail fraud and filing a false tax return in federal court in Peoria, just days before he was to go on trial for embezzling funds from the practice several years ago.

He will also have to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution to the IRS, the state of Illinois and the doctors behind the Bloomington medical practice. He will also likely have to pay a fine. Prosecutors want at least $1 million, but that's up to Darrow to decide.

His sentence is well below the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, which is between 41 and 57 months.

The federal sentencing guidelines are based on the nature of the offence and the person's prior history. It's a line graph. On one side is the person's prior history and criminal history. On the other side is the level of the offence. Where the two meet is the person's seriousness range.

This story will be updated