The former director of security for a Georgia hospital has pleaded guilty to fraudulently using hospital funds to acquire guns that he then sold for profit, according to the Department of Justice.
Russell 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 the guns, which Mr. Richardson took and sold, according to the Justice Department.
Beginning in July 2017, 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.
Throughout the scheme, Mr. Richardson acquired about 100 firearms, according to prosecutors.
Mr. Richardson was indicted by a grand jury in August 2019 for mail fraud, dealing firearms without a license and selling firearms to non-state residents. He pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of transferring firearms to non-state residents.