30-month term for DVI Inc.'s ex-officer

The former chief financial officer of a Bucks County finance company was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison yesterday and ordered to pay $51 million in restitution.

Steven Garfinkel of Philadelphia, who was CFO for the now-defunct DVI Inc., is the third person in the nation to be charged criminally under the Sarbanes-Oxley law, authorities said. That law is a post-Enron-era measure aimed at holding senior executives accountable for the accuracy of financial reports.

Garfinkel, 64, pleaded guilty to directing DVI employees to falsify documents and double-list assets. The crime triggered a $50 million loss to Fleet Bank, authorities said.

Garfinkel might have faced twice as much time if he had not cooperated with FBI agents and postal inspectors at the outset of the investigation, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy L. Kurland said.

DVI, which declared bankruptcy in 2003, financed the purchase or lease of expensive diagnostic equipment by health-care providers.

In a presentence filing, Garfinkel's attorney said DVI's failure was attributable to factors beyond just Garfinkel's fraud. These include "growth without concomitant expansion of an adequate capital base" and "the untimely and unwise expansion into international operations."

"The crimes he committed do not involve siphoning off of funds for his personal gain," attorney Levan Friedman wrote. "Having admitted his guilt, he stands before the court and pleads for mercy."

Garfinkel is not expected to be able to repay the $51 million he owes Fleet. U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III ordered Garfinkel to repay the bank at a rate of $200 a month.

Bartle ordered Garfinkel to report to prison April 30.