Federal agents briefly detained infamous ex-hospital CEO Ralph de la Torre early last week and seized his phone, according to an investigative report from the Boston Globe.
De la Torre is the ultra-wealthy former CEO of the now-bankrupt hospital chain Steward, once the largest for-profit health care company in the country. Steward and de la Torre have been accused of being "health care terrorists" and practicing "third-world medicine" that killed and maimed patients as executives extracted millions in payouts, stripping the company of assets.
In September, de la Torre was held in criminal contempt of Congress for failing to abide by a congressional subpoena to attend a Senate hearing over the alleged corruption.
The execution of a search warrant last week is a clear sign that a sprawling federal corruption and fraud investigation against Steward and de la Torre is escalating. According to people close to the investigation who spoke with the Globe, federal prosecutors have a two-pronged probe, including investigating potential fraud and embezzlement in the US, and also potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it unlawful to bribe foreign government officials to obtain or retain business.
In addition to the search warrant served to de la Torre last week, federal agents also visited and seized the phone of Armin Ernst, who leads Steward's international entity.
Investigations
Both de la Torre and Ernst are at the center of a criminal corruption case in Malta, where Steward executives are accused of bribing government officials to secure a hospital contract. Ram Tumuluri, a health care executive who worked with the Maltese government, wrote in a complaint to Congress that de la Torre "boasted that he could issue 'brown bags' [of cash] to government officials if necessary to close transactions," CBS News reported in September.
Earlier this year, a Maltese magistrate concluded a four-year investigation into the matter and recommended that Ernst and de la Torre be charged with money laundering, criminal association, and corruption of public officials, including the nation’s former prime minister, Joseph Muscat, the Globe reports.
Meanwhile, new allegations of domestic dealings continue to come to light. In a separate investigative story Monday, the Globe reported that Steward executives used Steward-owned malpractice insurer TRACO "like a piggy bank." The Panama-based TRACO was supposed to work like an independent insurer for the hospital chain; Steward would pay TRACO malpractice insurance premiums on behalf of its doctors and the pooled money would be used to litigate and pay out claims. But, instead of paying premiums, Steward gave TRACO IOUs. By the end of 2023, TRACO's accounting records showed $99 million in outstanding loans, most owed by Steward, and $176 million in "accounts receivable," also mostly owed by Steward.
With Steward now in bankruptcy, insurance coverage for health care providers is now in question, as are payouts to patients who were harmed by Steward's care. The Globe noted the case of Yasmany Sosa, whose 35-year-old wife, Yanisey Rodriguez, died a preventable death after giving birth at Steward North Shore Medical Center in Florida in September 2022. Steward agreed to a $4 million settlement with Sosa in March, but the money hasn't appeared, leaving Sosa in limbo and struggling.
"They killed my wife, that’s for starters. Second of all, they destroyed my family," Sosa told the Globe through a translator. "This has all become a bunch of loopholes, legal strategies. This really is very difficult for me… I’ve already lost everything."
