Simi Man, 3 Sons Admit Roles in Hospital Fraud

A Simi Valley man and his three sons have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a scheme in which hospital employees steered contracts to an accomplice at inflated prices, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Monday.

Including the four men, 11 people have admitted guilt in the scheme, Assistant U.S. Atty. Carolyn Kubota said.

Donald A. Wright Sr., 57, engineering director at Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Inglewood, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to three counts of mail fraud and one of tax evasion.

His son, Richard Lee Wright, 33, of Chatsworth, who was chief engineer of French Hospital in Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to a tax fraud charge.

Another son, Donald A. Wright Jr., 35, of Simi Valley, pleaded guilty last week to three counts each of mail fraud and tax evasion and could be sentenced to 30 years in prison and fined $1.5 million, Kubota said.

He operated 27 front companies that, along with two legitimate firms, submitted bids for electrical work at hospitals where the other defendants worked, Kubota said. In return for contract awards, Donald A. Wright Jr. paid kickbacks to other members of the ring, she said. A third brother, Michael Patrick Wright, 28, of Lancaster, chief engineer of Washington Medical Center in Culver City, last week pleaded guilty to two counts each of mail fraud and tax evasion.