The former chief of the prosthetics and orthotics department at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center pleaded guilty to accepting gifts from a public official as part of a purchasing scheme, according to the Department of Justice.
David Laufer was chief of prosthetics and orthotics at Walter Reed in Bethesda, Md., from 2009 through May 2019. According to his plea agreement, Mr. Laufer worked with an unnamed company that was paid by the federal government to provide prosthetics and orthotics equipment to his department at Walter Reed. The unnamed company was awarded multiple contracts, and resold materials purchased from other manufacturers to Walter Reed at higher prices.
According to his plea agreement, Mr. Laufer admitted to restricting which manufacturers could sell to the unnamed company, knowing it would result in higher prices. The actions led the company to receive more than $25 million. In exchange, Mr. Laufer admitted he received money, travel and sporting event tickets from the company, and did not disclose the gifts.
Mr. Laufer faces a maximum of two years in federal prison for accepting a bribe, according to the Justice Department.