Immigrant’s ‘dream job’ at AMA Labs leads to $1.5M fine

A Polish immigrant who sought the American Dream only to get caught up in a “soul crushing” fraud at a Rockland lab company has been ordered to pay $1.5 million in ill-gotten gains and restitution.

U.S. District Judge Vincent L. Briccetti also sentenced Patrycja Wojtowicz on Aug. 12  to time served and three years of supervised release, for her role in a $46.2 million conspiracy and wire fraud scheme at AMA Laboratories Inc., New City.

Gabriel Letizia Jr. founded AMA in 1982 for testing the safety and efficacy of drugs and cosmetics. Sunscreen products, for instance, were tested for SPF, the sun protection factor that consumers rely on to protect themselves from too much exposure to the sun.

But for 30 years, according to court records, AMA used fewer test panelists than clients had paid for and falsified test results.

Wojtowicz was born in Poland in 1981 to a coal miner and civil servant who lived in a small, one-bedroom apartment with few material possessions, according to a sentencing memorandum prepared by her attorneys.

She was the first in her family to graduate from university, earning a master’s degree in chemistry and production engineering.

In 2005, she and her husband, Kamil, immigrated to the U.S. and found work as managers of a Wendy’s restaurant in Delaware.

AMA hired her in 2007.

“AMA offered her what seemed like a dream come true — employment in her field of study, visa sponsorship, a path to citizenship, and full benefits for both her and her husband,” the sentencing memo states.

“Alas, it was not a dream job. She was introduced to the fraud not long after she joined AMA. Although it was soul crushing for her, she went along with it because she felt that she had no other option.”

Her attorneys, Jolene LaVigne-Albert and Douglas E. Grover, wholeheartedly agreed with a recommendation by the U.S. Probation Department for a sentence of time served.

They noted that Wojtowicz, AMA’s associate director of clinical studies, has accepted responsibility and expressed genuine remorse. She is exceptionally generous and practices Buddhism, yoga and meditation. Since losing her job in 2017, she has found a new career as a doula, helping individuals and their families in the last stage of life.

But her lawyers strenuously objected to the fines.

Prosecutors sought a restitution order of $1.4 million to be shared by all defendants in the case, and a forfeiture order of $330,433. They reasoned that 70% of AMA’s gross proceeds were derived from the fraud, therefore Wojtowicz should pay back 70% of the $472,047 she was paid during the five years, 4 months she participated in the scheme.

Her lawyers argued that Wojtowicz’s department accounted for a tiny portion of the scam; none of the fraudulent revenues are traceable to her salary; she will never be able to work again in the chemistry or cosmetics industries; her involvement in the scheme was completely out of character; and she has otherwise lived an unblemished life.

But prosecutors Jeffrey C. Coffman, James McMahon and Olga I. Zverovich argue that Wojtowicz knew that the phantom panelist scheme was being carried out at other departments.

“Wojtowicz participated in the conspiracy for more than a decade,” they state in a sentencing letter, “including by training other employees who reported to her to participate in the fraud.”

Judge Briccetti ruled that $94,409 of her income can be traced to the crimes.

Letizia was sentenced in May to 5 years imprisonment and ordered to pay $1.4 million in restitution and forfeit $46.2 million in ill-gotten gains.

Co-defendants David Winne, Mayya Tatsene and Kaitlyn Gold have pleaded guilty to participating in the fraud. Winne and Tatsene are scheduled for sentencing in September.