Former Beth Israel Medical Center Employee Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Over $1 Million Dollars

March 4, 2010 - BOSTON, MA—A Boston man pled guilty today in federal court of embezzling over $1 million from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Boston Field Division and Police Commissioner Edward Davis of the Boston Police Department announced today that RICHARD P. WEBB, age 42, of Boston, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro to one count of health care theft and embezzlement.

At today’s plea hearing, the prosecutor told the Court that had the case proceeded to trial the Government’s evidence would have proven that WEBB worked at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School in Boston, as a practice assistant in the Ear, Nose, and Throat Department and from January 2006 through April 2009, and took approximately $1,054,712 by stealing checks written to the department and by obtaining fraudulent refunds for hearing aids and other items. To carry out the scheme, WEBB forged signatures and deposited stolen funds into bank accounts that he controlled.

In an Agreement filed separately in Court, WEBB and the Government agreed to recommend a sentence of 42 months of imprisonment, restitution and forfeiture of over $1 million, and a condition that he not handle money, investments, or other assents for other people or companies during his supervised release. Judge Tauro is expected to decide whether to accept the recommendation at the Sentencing Hearing set for June 9, 2010.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Boston Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott L. Garland of Ortiz’s Computer Crimes Unit and Veronica Lei of Ortiz’s Asset Forfeiture Unit.