A Center Township couple accused of defrauding Butler Health System of between $600,000 to $1.3 million agreed to repay the hospital for losses incurred two years before they were indicted, court records show.

Scott and Stephanie Roskovski pleaded guilty May 28, 2020, to various federal charges related to defrauding BHS during Stephanie Roskovski's employment there as chief operating officer.

A federal grand jury indicted the couple April 17, 2019, on charges of fraud and other financial crimes.

On Tuesday, Scott Roskovski, a former county detective, renewed a request to withdraw his guilty plea in the case. The request contains new details concerning hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to the hospital over the past four years.

Scott Roskovski pleaded guilty to federal charges of filing a false loan application and false income tax return. Stephanie Roskovski pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of filing a false income tax return.

Prosecutors maintain that $1.3 million was defrauded, but defense lawyers argue the figure is about $600,000. The hospital's investigation began in 2017 and led to the two agreements.

Payment details were outlined in Scott Roskoviski's most-recent filing.

Payment agreements

In the first agreement, entered Aug. 30, 2017, Stephanie Roskovski agreed to pay back for reimbursements BHS paid to her personal credit card.

She also agreed to give up her funds in retirement and cash balance plans. This amounted to her paying $71,364.33 to Butler Memorial Hospital as partial satisfaction.

In the second payment agreement, the Roskovskis and their company, Switchback, a motocross facility in Butler County, agreed to pay BMH $100,000 no later than Nov. 15, 2017. Another $100,000 was to be made by Nov. 30, 2017.

After that, the Roskovskis set up a plan to make 10 periodic payments to the hospital, ranging from $25,000 to $35,000 between 2018 to 2020 for a total of $280,000.

All conditions of repayment in the second agreement were met, Scott Roskovski stated in his court filing.

The Roskovskis also acknowledge in the agreement that these payments do not fully recover the money the hospital lost and the cost of investigating the case.

In Scott Roskovski's renewed withdrawal request, he argues that he didn't understand the technicalities of what he was pleading guilty to on May 28.

He notes in his filing that he was never employed by BHS “and he had no role whatsoever in connection with BHS' expense reimbursement processes.”

He admits that Switchback hosted various events over the years during which BHS sponsored giveaways. But, he argues, he thought these sponsorships were approved by BHS and in BHS' interest.

After Stephanie Roskovski's termination from BHS, the couple went to S&T bank for a business loan to refinance and consolidate their debt on Switchback. Scott argues in the court filing that he didn't think Stephanie's employment status mattered in the bank's decision to refinance the business.

Scott Roskovski argues that the evidence that prosecutors have doesn't show him doing anything wrong and is limited to allegations that he benefitted from his wife's fraud.

He also argues that “he did not believe then and does not believe now that he had knowledge of any fraudulent proceeds obtained from BHS that were deliberately concealed from his tax returns.”

And he concludes that, “He is actually innocent of those charges.”

Scott Roskovski, through his new attorney, Stephen Stallings, asked District Judge William Stickman IV of the Western District of Pennsylvania to accept the guilty plea withdrawal.

On Friday, Stickman granted a request for a motion to extend time on sentencing deadlines.

Scott Roskovski first tried to back out of the guilty plea Jan. 12, but Stickman denied the request.

In his new request, Roskovski acknowledges his original motion was “bare-bones” and aims to make a stronger argument for his withdrawal with this new request.

The government has until April 27 to respond, after which Stickman will make a decision.