A former Queen's Medical Center administrator pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to defrauding the hospital out of more than $594,000.

Patricia Syling, 39, pleaded guilty to eight counts of mail fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison on each count when she is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway on May 26.

Syling was accused of creating bogus contracts between a company she owned and Queen's, and charging the hospital for services that were not performed. Federal prosecutors said she ran the scheme from November 2002 to July 2004.

Syling was hired by Queen's in September 2001 as the corporate compliance administrator and director of revenue cycle. Her responsibilities included ensuring that Queen's was in compliance with regulations imposed by federal and state agencies.

But Syling admitted in court yesterday that she created three fraudulent contracts between Queen's and her firm, Healthcare Financial & Compliance Management, without the knowledge or permission of the hospital. Prosecutors said she sent eight invoices to Queen's under the fraudulent contracts that totaled $594,430.

Syling and her attorney could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorney William Shipley.

In addition to her legal problems in Hawai'i, Syling is accused of defrauding a Florida health group of more than $1 million and using $320,000 of the proceeds to buy a luxury skybox at Tampa Bay Buccaneer football games.

That allegation was made in a civil lawsuit filed against Syling in Florida by her former employer, Citrus Health Care Inc.