The former director of security for a Georgia hospital has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison for fraudulently using hospital funds to acquire guns that he then sold for profit, the Department of Justice announced Nov. 13.
The sentencing comes after Russell Richardson pleaded guilty in June to one count of mail fraud and one count of transferring firearms to non-state residents.
Mr. Richardson was director of security for DeKalb Medical Center in Atlanta — now named Emory Decatur Hospital — between 2016 and June 2018. In March 2016, Mr. Richardson began submitting and approving requests to the hospital for firearms he intended to sell for profit. The hospital paid for 93 guns, which Mr. Richardson took and sold, according to the Justice Department.
Between June 2016 and April 2018, Mr. Richardson used hospital letterhead to place orders directly with a firearms' vendor. Mr. Richardson had the vendor submit invoices directly to him. He then changed the items purchased on the invoices and submitted them to the hospital. The hospital paid the invoices without knowing the funds were for the purchase of firearms, according to the Justice Department.
In addition to the prison sentence, Mr. Richardson was ordered to pay $83,274 in restitution.