Whistleblower claims executives at Steward Health Care bragged about illegal bribes

In a written complaint to Congress, a whistleblower claimed that executives at Steward Health Care—including CEO Ralph de la Torre—illegally conspired with a foreign government to secure overseas contracts, CBS News is reporting. 

The outlet cites written statements submitted to Congress that reporters have seen first-hand. The whistleblower is said to be Ram Tumuluri, a healthcare executive who worked with the Maltese government. In his complaint, Tumuluri alleged that de la Torre bragged about bribing foreign officials with “brown bags" of cash and directly insinuated he would entice the government of Malta to win hospital contracts. 

The complaint is currently being reviewed by a Senate committee as part of an investigation into Steward’s operation, CBS News reported, citing a statement from a congressional staffer.

In a reply to CBS News, a spokesperson for de la Torre denied the claims of the whistleblower, dismissing them as baseless. The spokesperson also said Steward’s international operations were entirely lawful.

Despite being subpoenaed, de la Torre opted not to appear in front of the Senate for questioning, citing ongoing bankruptcy proceedings at Steward. 

Investigations are ongoing 

In July, journalists revealed that Steward was under an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for its ties to foreign governments, specifically that of the island nation of Malta, where Steward operated three state-run healthcare facilities. 

Steward has also been accused of bizarre expenditures unrelated to their core healthcare business, including spending $7 million on intelligence firms to spy on critics, including politicians of foreign nations. 

No criminal charges have been filed against anyone at the company.

Read the full feature from CBS News for more.