A former county detective proclaimed his innocence and said he was confused when he previously pleaded guilty to charges in a case related to the embezzlement of $1.3 million from the Butler Health System.

Scott Roskovski and his wife, Stephanie Roskovski, of Center Township pleaded guilty in federal court May 28 to separate charges related to defrauding the health care system between 2011 and 2017, during Stephanie Roskovski's employment as chief operating officer for the system.

The couple were charged in April 2019, bringing an end to a federal investigation into their finances.

For his part, Scott Roskovski pleaded guilty to federal charges of filing a false loan application and false income tax return. But on Jan. 12, he asked District Judge William Stickman IV of the Western District of Pennsylvania to withdraw his guilty plea.

Prosecutors objected to the request and, on Feb. 4, for a second time, Scott attempted to make the case that he was innocent in legal filings responding to the government's objections.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Bloch, who prosecuted the case, said Scott Roskovski hadn't even claimed to be innocent in his original request to withdraw his guilty plea. In his follow-up filing, he wrote through his attorneys, “This is an assertion of innocence.”

Bloch argued during previous court appearances that she would have presented evidence showing that the Roskovskis used BHS money to invest in their motocross business, SwitchbackMX, which they bought in 2015 along with 78 acres. This alone, according to Bloch, amounted to hundreds of thousands in fraudulently obtained funds. Additionally, Bloch said, the Roskovskis used BHS funds to remodel their kitchen and for travel expenses.

While Scott's case is being debated, Stephanie Roskovski is scheduled to be sentenced March 11.

When Scott Roskovski pleaded guilty, he agreed with prosecutors that he had lied in a bank loan request maintaining that his wife was still employed at BHS, even though she had already been fired. He also pleaded guilty to hiding the couple's full amount of taxable income on their tax return in 2016.

In the government's objection, signed by Bloch, prosecutors noted that during the court hearing, when Scott Roskovski pleaded guilty, the court examined his competency to ensure he was entering the guilty plea knowingly and voluntarily. Bloch also noted the court took the time to make sure Roskovski knew he was giving up certain rights.

During the hearing, Stickman asked Scott Roskovski if he committed the acts contained in the two counts, and he responded that he did.

In Scott's Feb. 4 filing, he again asked that he be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea. He argued that he wasn't in the correct state of mind to plead guilty to the two charges and he claimed he did not have the “knowledge that the statement was false, and the purpose of thereby influencing the lender, and he did not willfully submit a false tax return.”

He also argued that he is not making this request for withdrawal on “a lark,” as Bloch claims, but “because he does not believe that the facts that he is prepared to admit constitute the legal elements.”

He ended the response by invoking his right to a jury trial.