The former finance chief of a not-for-profit cancer research institute pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal obstruction-of-justice charges, admitting that he repeatedly lied to government agents.

Roy Victor, who had served as chief financial officer of the Valhalla, N.Y.-based Institute for Cancer Prevention (IFCP), faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from his offense, according to Michael Garcia, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

A federal audit discovered that the IFCP, which was funded largely grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS), fraudulently submitted requests, in 1999 and 2000, to be reimbursed for non-grant-related expenses disguised as expenses that were reimbursable under the terms of federal grants.

The IFCP repaid the funds and agreed to train IFCP employees to ensure the practice would not be repeated. Yet the practice of fraudulently seeking reimbursements resumed, according to Garcia.

Victor admitted falsely denying that the IFCP had submitted false statements to the USDHHS to conceal the improper requests for grant funds. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 18.