AeroVanti founder pleads poverty to avoid court fee in Medicare fraud case

Patrick Britton-Harr is claiming financial troubles that have him living off the charity of others as an explanation for why he was unable to pay in full a $575,000 fine imposed by a federal judge by April 30.

Britton-Harr, who is the founder of AeroVanti, the embattled Sarasota private air service company marketed to the rich and which is being sued by dozens, made the claim through an attorney in a court filing late Friday.

The amount he owes the court is equal to the sales price for an Annapolis, Maryland, house he was prohibited from selling but did anyway, court papers say.