A man convicted this week of defrauding a Texas hospital by operating a shell company that impersonated healthcare IT giant Cerner Corp. died in custody, just days after his conviction.
Suresh Mitta was found dead in a cell with other prisoners at a jail in Jackson County, MO, according to an article in the Dallas Morning News. The 50-year-old Mitta apparently had a seizure within a few hours of coming into the custody of U.S. Marshals, the article stated. He died after being transported by ambulance to a local hospital.
Mitta was one of a number of individuals convicted of operating an elaborate scheme to defraud hospitals by setting up a company called Cerner LLC to impersonate Cerner Corp. The scam began to unravel when they sold an MRI scanner to Dallas Medical Center; the hospital uncovered the scam when it began to investigate why the installation was taking so long.
Mitta was chief technology officer for the sham company. Authorities believe Mitta and his co-conspirators defrauded health providers of as much as $19.5 million.
