A 50-year-old Richardson man was convicted for his role in a scheme in which several co-conspirators impersonated Cerner Corp. employees to bilk millions of dollars from victims including the Dallas Medical Center, which paid more than $1 million for a new MRI system that never came.
Suresh Mitta, who also went by Suresh Reddy or Mitta Suresh, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Albert Davis, 57 and also of Richardson, pled guilty to taking the lead role in a separate case and was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison a year ago. Davis was ordered to pay back more than $19 million to victims. Four others also took plea deals.
The scheme itself is a complex one that includes bogus emails, a web of separate bank accounts and entities, and “virtual” office space that allowed for a fake Kansas City address.
During in-person meetings with the then-CEO of Dallas Medical Center, Raji Kumar, and attorneys, Mitta impersonated a senior physicist with Cerner all the way down to the business cards, according to evidence presented at trial as reported in this news release from the Department of Justice.
When the Dallas Medical Center didn’t act quickly, the conspirators forwarded emails from prominent cardiologists in the area, under fake email accounts, who said they couldn’t wait for the new system. They also provided the hospital with references—which led them to more fake doctors and conspirators, according to the release.
The release also says that Davis sued the Dallas Medical Center after it caught onto the scheme, and that Mitta, Davis, and others provided false testimony in depositions related to the suit.
Still, the Dallas Medical Center plot was only one portion. The conspirators were awarded a whopping $24 million after lying and presenting false exhibits during a 2014 trial after bringing a suit against a Korean company called ISOL Technology, the DOJ’s release says.
Mitta’s case was tried in the Western District of Missouri, in Kansas City (where Cerner is located). It began on May 7. Jurors came back with a guilty verdict after about two hours of deliberations. Mitta is subject to up to 20 years in federal prison.
