Dive Brief:
- A man has been charged in federal court after claiming to be a representative of Kansas City-based Cerner Corporation and fraudulently "selling" an MRI to Dallas Medical Center for more than $1 million, the FBI reports.
- Texas resident Albert Davis and at least six co-conspirators are said to have completed a wire fraud scheme that successfully convinced Dallas Medical Center to send two wire payments to their bank accounts in 2012.
- The elaborate ruse allegedly included in-person and e-mail impersonations of Cerner employees, physicians and investors.
- The fraud was uncovered when the installation of the MRI never took place, and the hospital contacted real Cerner representatives.
Dive Insight:
The scheme points toward issues of security and communication.
According to the FBI, Cerner had generated a real quote to sell an MRI in partnership with Davis to Dallas Medical Center. However, Cerner decided not pursue the deal, so Davis orchestrated the impersonation.
The conspirators are said to have "created a fake business entity, opened bank accounts, registered an Internet domain, created employee email accounts, leased 'virtual office space' and purchased cell phones with the Kansas City area codes all under the guise of being associated with Cerner," the FBI reports. The conspirators also allegedly prepared fraudulent Cerner invoices.