Following an investigation that involved the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service and the Blountstown Police Department, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed the indictment by a federal grand jury of a former CEO of a Florida Hospital. He faces charges of embezzlement, wire fraud and filing false tax returns. According to the indictment, the crimes alleged were committed between 2010 and 2015.
It is alleged that the accused man formed a shell company and billed the hospital for nonexistent goods purchased from this company. The payments for these invoices purportedly went to a bank account in the fake company’s name, which was managed by the former CEO. The man is also accused of making purchases from vendors such as eBay, and then selling those products at significantly inflated prices to the hospital.
The indictment also asserts that the funds in the bank account of the shell company were used to fund another business venture, and to settle personal credit card debts, travel expenses and grocery purchases. He allegedly also obtained cash from that bank account. According to the DOJ, upon another hospital employee’s request for the fake company’s phone number, the defendant allegedly replied that he no longer had the number because he had lost his phone. He mentioned that he believed the company was in the process of shutting down.
Although it was reported that this man could face many years in prison, based on the maximum penalties for the individual charges, he will remain innocent in the eyes of the law until — and only if — the prosecution proves his guilt in court and beyond a reasonable doubt. Florida residents who are accused of embezzlement or other white collar crimes typically retain the services of a criminal defense lawyer at the earliest opportunity. An experienced attorney will work to secure the best possible outcome.
Source: healthcarefinancenews.com, “Florida hospital CEO charged with fraud after allegedly embezzling funds“, Beth Jones Sanborn, May 3, 2018