Former Valparaiso man admits he lied to avoid paying $188 million

Sept. 22--A former Valparaiso man who was ordered to pay $188 million in two civil judgments has admitted he lied in order to hide money he had in an offshore account.

Peter G. Rogan, 69, pled guilty to one count of perjury Tuesday at the U.S. District Court in Chicago, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago.

He faces up to 12 to 21 months in prison as part of a plea deal, according to the release. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 14.

A copy of the plea agreement was not available as of Tuesday afternoon.

A federal judge ordered Rogan in 2006 to pay the $64 million civil judgment as part of his involvement with a multi-million dollar health insurance fraud scheme at his former medical company, Edgewater Medical Center in Chicago. That judgment was joined a year later by another judgment of $124 million awarded against him in favor of Dexia Credit Local, which had loaned Rogan's business money.

However, Rogan, who up until then had lived in Valparaiso, fled the country to Canada just a week after the first judgment in October 2006, according to court records.

He also continued to fight paying any of the judgments, filing an affidavit in 2006 in which he denied that he controlled a trust account set up in Bahama under his name that held millions of dollars. According to court records, the trust at one time held $30 million to $35 million, although it was unclear Tuesday afternoon what remains.

However, according to court records, bank records from the company that oversaw the trust proved Rogan did have control over the account, and federal attorneys charged him and his attorney, Frederick M. Cuppy, also formerly of Valparaiso, in 2011 in a 10-count indictment.

Although Cuppy was arrested and pled guilty in 2011, Rogan fought extradition and remained free in Canada until June, when he agreed to waive his extradition rights.

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