Ex-COO of Philly medical device company pleads guilty to wire fraud
The former executive had been accused of spending thousands of dollar on box seats at a Sixers game, hotel rooms, and other personal expenses.
A former executive at a Philly medical device firm has pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge after federal officials accused him of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Joseph Geromini, 56, of Linwood, N.J., reached a plea agreement last week with federal prosecutors who had charged the former executive in 2021 with looting funds from his former employer, Group K Diagnostics — which recently rebranded as HueDx.
The Philadelphia-based start-up, which was identified in court filings as “Pennsylvania Corporate Victim,” was founded by a University of Pennsylvania bioengineering grad and raised millions to develop next-generation medical diagnostic tools. Starting in 2018, Geromini had served as both a consultant and chief operating officer for the company, which is headquartered in Center City, assisting with fundraising and financial management.
But less than one year later, he was dismissed and then sued by his onetime employer.
That initial suit, filed in 2019 after an internal investigation, alleged Geromini had fraudulently transferred more than $150,000 to a consulting company he controlled, Xanitos Marketing, which was based at his personal residence. The former executive, who had controlled Group K’s financial accounts as COO, had falsely claimed the expenses were paid to a hospital for clinical trial work.
Instead, the civil filing alleged, he spent thousands on box seats at a Sixers game, hotel rooms, and other personal expenses.
Geromini was later charged by the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey with 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of securities fraud, in a criminal case that mirrored many of the allegations from the civil suit.
Last week, Geromini accepted a plea deal that dropped the majority of those charges, pleading guilty to a single count of wire fraud, court filings show. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
Geromini had previously been found guilty of check fraud and theft in prior criminal cases.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey did not respond to a request for comment, nor did an attorney for Geromini.
The former executive will stand for a sentencing hearing on April 24.