Former In-plant Manager Faces Prison Time for Fraud

A former employee pled guilty to defrauding Memorial Hermann Health Systems in Houston of nearly $10 million, and now faces up to 20 years in prison, reported KRGV-TV.

In 2001, Kenneth Wild II began writing bogus invoices for printing services that were never provided. The invoices came from a phony company Wild made up. As the hospital’s printing and mail services manager, Wild, 49, was responsible for approving invoices and sending checks for payment. Over the years, he submitted more than 200 invoices and sent checks to a post office box he controlled.

According to The Houston Chronicle, officials said Wild used the money to take overseas vacations to China, England, Germany, Iceland and the Netherlands.

Wild had a previous brush with theft that landed him in the slammer. A disbarred lawyer, he was convicted of felony theft and fiduciary misappropriation of client funds and served five months of a five-year prison sentence, according to the Chronicle. Three years later, in 1996, he was hired at Memorial Hermann, working in a division managed by his mother. In fact, Memorial Hermann was reportedly aware of his conviction, but hired him, anyway, the Chronicle reported.

Auditors received an anonymous tip last month outlining the scam, revealed KRGV-TV, and Wild was fired during the investigation.

Wild’s plea bargain includes restitution to Memorial Hermann Health Systems that requires him to relinquish all of his financial assets, including his home, vehicles and retirement plan, according to the newspaper.

IPG spoke with Wild in 2002 for an article about insourcing.

For more coverage of the fraud case, click here.