The president and CEO of RX Resources and Solutions, a durable medical equipment provider in Randallstown, Md., has pleaded guilty to collecting a debt by extortion, conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and conspiracy to defraud the U.S., according to the Department of Justice.
According to his plea agreement, 56-year-old Harry Crawford facilitated a $15,000 loan in 2013 to his longtime friend David Wutoh from Matthew Hightower, who worked as a delivery driver for RXRS. That same year, Mr. Crawford also loaned Mr. Wutoh at least $6,000, according to the DOJ.
When Mr. Wutoh failed to repay the loans, Mr. Crawford and Mr. Hightower began harassing and threatening the debtor to coerce him to repay the money. On Sept. 22, 2013, Mr. Wutoh was shot dead in the living room of his Baltimore home. Mr. Hightower was convicted of the murder of Mr. Wutoh this September.
In addition to extortion, Mr. Crawford also conspired with others to defraud Medicaid and other payers. Mr. Crawford and his co-conspirators billed Medicaid for supplies that were never provided or were not prescribed by a physician and overcharged payers for materials, according to the DOJ.
Mr. Crawford also admitted he conspired to defraud the federal government by not reporting or paying taxes on the proceeds of the fraud, according to the DOJ.
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