The former CEO of Loretto Hospital has been charged in an embezzlement scheme that allegedly bilked millions of dollars from the small West Side safety-net hospital, even as the COVID-19 pandemic was raging.
George Miller, 73, was charged in a superseding indictment made public Friday with a single count of bribery conspiracy. An arraignment date has not been set.
The indictment lays out Miller’s alleged involvement in the $15 million embezzlement scheme in which four others have already been charged, including the hospital’s former Chief Financial Officer Anosh Ahmed. Ahmed was charged earlier this summer with embezzling at least $15 million from Loretto.
The new indictment, filed Wednesday in federal court in Chicago, lays out details of Miller’s alleged involvement in the scheme between 2018 and 2021.
Miller, who was CEO at Loretto from 2017 until he left amid turmoil in 2022, allegedly conspired to use his position to steer hospital contracts to medical supplies and service companies owned and operated by Chicagoan Sameer Suhail, who has already been indicted in the alleged scheme.
Miller is accused, along with his former CFO, of conspiring to accept checks and money transfers from Suhail in exchange for the award of contracts and other hospital business to Suhail’s companies. He allegedly accepted around $769,000 in bribes, prosecutors said. --->READ MORE HERE
Fox-13 News |
Two Lehigh Acres man faces federal charges after separate indictments accuse them of COVID relief fraud.
United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg on Tuesday announced the return of an indictment charging Thakur Sukhdeo, 38, with wire fraud and illegal monetary transactions. If convicted, Sukhdeo faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count and up to 10 years in federal prison for each illegal monetary transaction count.
Handberg also announced the arrest of Lester John Parker Jr., 55, on a 15-count indictment related to his alleged involvement in a multi-million-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.
What is Thakur Sukhdeo accused of?
Court officials said the indictment notifies Sukhdeo that the United States intends for him to forfeit a 2018 Jaguar F-Pace, a 2020 GMC Sierra 3500 HD and $414,000 in proceed related to the alleged misuse of COVID relief funds.
According to the indictment, beginning in approximately July 2021, Sukhdeo schemed to defraud the Small Business Administration by misrepresenting the use of Economic Injury Disaster Loans in documents.
Officials said Sukhdeo's false representations caused the SBA to fund a $414,000 loan for his company, J.R. Handyman Pro's LLC. Instead of using the proceeds for working capital, officials said, Sukhdeo used the funds for unauthorized purposes and for his own personal enrichment and the enrichment of others. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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