The 50-year-old man found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud earlier this week has died in custody, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri confirmed on Friday.
Suresh Mitta, of Richardson, had been convicted by a federal jury for his role in a scheme in which he and several other co-conspirators bilked millions of dollars from healthcare companies, including more than $1 million from the Dallas Medical Center. To trick Dallas Medical Center into wiring money for an MRI machine, the group posed as employees of Kansas City-based Cerner Corp. in emails and in person. (More on the complex scheme here.)
The Dallas Morning News reported Mitta’s death on Thursday, citing the U.S. Marshals’ Office. Here’s what the DMN has:
While in a cell with other prisoners in Jackson County, Mo., Mitta suffered what law enforcement authorities said looked like a seizure. An ambulance was called and Mitta was taken to a local hospital, where he died.
“Within a couple of hours of coming into custody, he had passed,” said Chief Deputy Scott Seeling of the U.S. Marshals’ office, who said there was no “obvious sign” of trauma to his body.
I’m trying to find out more and will update here or post again if and when I do. I’m yet to get anyone at the U.S. Marshals office to speak with me. (Update below).
Mitta was facing up to 20 years in federal prison for the crime. Five others had pled guilty in relation to the scheme, including 57-year-old Richardson man Albert Davis, who confessed to being its leader. Davis was sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay back $19 million to victims.
Update: Seeling emailed me on Monday to confirm Mitta’s death on May 15. He said it occurred at a U.S. Marshall Service detention space inside the U.S. Courthouse, but declined to answer anything further or confirm what he’d said to the DMN. He said the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy.
