Grand Rapids, Michigan – November 13, 2006 – United States Attorney Margaret M. Chiara announced today that Philip M. Stoffan, age 59, entered a guilty plea in federal district court to the charge of mail fraud. Mail fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000.00 fine. Mr. Stoffan will appear before Chief United States District Judge Robert Holmes Bell for sentencing at a date to be scheduled.

Mr. Stoffan, an attorney in Muskegon, Michigan, appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Joseph Scoville in Grand Rapids, Michigan and admitted to fraudulently billing a physicians group he represented in 2004.

Mr. Stoffan specialized in health care law and had been hired to negotiate a joint venture agreement between his clients and a physical therapy organization. As part of the negotiations, Mr. Stoffan was to obtain an Advisory Opinion from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) addressing the legality of the proposed joint venture to ensure that federal health care programs could be billed. Instead of seeking the opinion, however, Mr. Stoffan prepared two memoranda on copied HHS-OIG letterhead, which falsely stated that the venture met with the approval of HHS-OIG. He then distributed these false documents to his clients and the physical therapy organization. Mr. Stoffan billed the physician group for a variety of legal services related to his purported efforts to obtain HHS-OIG approval for the joint venture.

Ms. Chiara commended the efforts of HHS-OIG and the FBI who participated in the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Ray Beckering is prosecuting the case.