Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction…
Fake Executive Charged with Conspiracy...Dies Shortly After
A federal trial jury recently convicted a Texas man of conspiracy to commit wire fraud due to his role in an elaborate, multi-million dollar fraud scheme in which conspirators impersonated North Kansas City-based Cerner Corporation in business and legal activities.
Suresh Mitta was the chief technology officer (CTO) for several related entities owned and operated by Albert Davis. Conspirators engaged in a scheme to use the Cerner Corporation reputation and name in the medical field to manipulate business transactions and court proceedings in their favor.
The scheme included behaviors such as: perjured testimony, doctored trial exhibits, the use of fake people with fake email accounts, impersonated companies, fake business documents, and more than seventy entities with over fifty bank accounts.
In order to impersonate Cerner Corporation, Conspirators created a fake Cerner business entity for a similarly-named company, Cerner, LLC. Conspirators opened a fake Cerner bank account, registered a fake Cerner Internet domain and leased virtual office space for a fake Cerner address in Kansas City, Mo. They created fictitious employees from Cerner Corporation – including both fictitious identities and impersonating actual employees – to communicate with others. Conspirators fabricated documents, price quotes, agreements and invoices, which were all made to appear to be authentic Cerner Corporation documents, when they were not.
Conspirators impersonated Cerner Corporation in the fraudulent sale of a purported newly developed MRI system to Dallas Medical Center (DMC), which paid over $1 million to what they believed was Cerner Corporation, but which turned out to be nothing more than one of Davis’ shell companies.
Evidence introduced during the trial showed that Mitta, impersonating a Cerner employee, represented himself as the company’s senior physicist in meetings with the president of DMC and their attorneys. When DMC was not acting quickly enough on the deal, conspirators created fake e-mail accounts for prominent cardiologists in Dallas. Conspirators then used these fake email accounts to draft e-mails, which stated that these cardiologists could not wait to get the MRI system at DMC. Conspirators then forwarded these e-mails to DMC, which created the impression of demand for the system at DMC. Conspirators also provided “references” for DMC to check, which turned out to be more fake doctors and co-conspirators playing the role of satisfied business partners.
As a result of those activities, several victims suffered millions of dollars in losses from August 25, 2008 to February 19, 2015.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury deliberated for two hours before returning the guilty verdict. Under federal statutes, Mitta would have been subject to a sentence of up to twenty years in federal prison without parole. We say “would have been,” because while in a cell with other prisoners after the verdict, Mitta suffered a seizure according to law enforcement and was taken to a local hospital, where he died.
Albert Davis pled guilty to leading the conspiracy in a separate case and was sentenced to twelve years in federal prison on April 24, 2017. He was also ordered by the court to pay $19,151,555 in restitution to victims of his scheme. Four additional co-conspirators have also pleaded guilty and been sentenced.