KANSAS CITY – A Texas man was convicted by a federal trial jury Tuesday for his role in an elaborate, multi-million-dollar fraud scheme in which conspirators impersonated North Kansas City-based Cerner Corporation in business and legal activities, according to a media release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Mitta was the chief technology officer (CTO) for several related entities owned and operated by Albert Davis, 57, also of Richardson. Conspirators engaged in a scheme to use Cerner Corporation’s reputation and standing in the medical field to manipulate business transactions and court proceedings in their favor. Multiple victims suffered millions of dollars in losses from Aug. 25, 2008, to Feb. 19, 2015.

Criminal conduct involved perjured testimony, doctored trial exhibits, a manipulated multi-million dollar civil verdict, the use of fake people with fake email accounts, impersonated companies, fake business documents and a phalanx of over 70 entities with more than 50 bank accounts.

Davis, who pleaded guilty to leading the conspiracy in a separate but related case, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison on April 24, 2017. The court also ordered Davis to pay $19,151,555 in restitution to the victims of his fraud scheme. Four additional co-conspirators (in separate but related cases) also have pleaded guilty and been sentenced.

In order to impersonate Cerner Corporation, Conspirators created a fake Cerner business entity for a similarly-named company, Cerner, LLC. Conspirators opened a fake Cerner bank account, registered a fake Cerner Internet domain and leased virtual office space for a fake Cerner address in Kansas City, Mo. They created fictitious employees from Cerner Corporation – including both fictitious identities and impersonating actual employees – to communicate with others. Conspirators fabricated documents, price quotes, agreements and invoices, which were all made to appear to be authentic Cerner Corporation documents, when they were not.

Conspirators impersonated Cerner Corporation in the fraudulent sale of a purported newly developed MRI system to Dallas Medical Center (DMC), which paid over $1 million to what they believed was Cerner Corporation, but which turned out to be nothing more than one of Davis’ shell companies.

Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Mitta, impersonating a Cerner employee, represented himself as the company’s senior physicist in meetings with the president of DMC and their attorneys.

When DMC was not acting quickly enough on the deal, conspirators created fake e-mail accounts for prominent cardiologists in Dallas. Conspirators then used these fake email accounts to draft e-mails, which stated that these cardiologists could not wait to get the MRI system at DMC. Conspirators then forwarded these e-mails to DMC, which created the impression of demand for the system at DMC. Conspirators also provided “references” for DMC to check, which turned out to be more fake doctors and co-conspirators playing the role of satisfied business partners.

Conspirators provided false and misleading information and testimony during the litigation of several lawsuits. The false and misleading testimony was regarding business deals where the conspirators had impersonated Cerner Corporation.

For example, when Dallas Medical Center learned of the fraud, Davis sued them (iHeart Care DMC Holdings, LLC. v. Dallas Medical Center, LLC., et al., Cause No. 13-09460, in Dallas County, Texas). Davis, Mitta, and others then provided false testimony in depositions in the resulting lawsuit.

According to court documents, the Dallas Medical Center scheme was just a sliver of the fraud Davis, Mitta and their co-conspirators committed.

In another example, conspirators brought a lawsuit against Korean company ISOL Technology. After testifying falsely about business dealings with Cerner Corporation and offering fake exhibits to support his claim of damages, conspirators received a jury award of $24 million in the 2014 trial in LBDS Holding Company, LLC v. ISOL Technology, Inc., et al., Case No. 6:11-CV-428-LED, in the Eastern District of Texas. When the fraud was discovered, attorneys for ISOL Technology filed an emergency motion for sanctions against LBDS (Davis’ company).

In addition to impersonating Cerner Corporation, conspirators used additional e-mail accounts to impersonate business entities and physicians in order to send communications designed to manipulate others in business transactions.

Additionally, conspirators solicited investments using fabricated communications and documents from entities they created, including the entity created to impersonate Cerner Corporation. Those misrepresentations included false financial documents, altered MRI images and false claims that used MRI systems were newly developed technology. Conspirators solicited millions of dollars in investments from physicians and other investors.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for about two hours before returning the guilty verdict to U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays, ending a trial that began Monday, May 7, 2018.

Under federal statutes, Mitta is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man convicted of stealing more than $7,000 in donations meant for an 11-year-old burn victim has been sentenced to probation.

District Attorney Marc Bennett’s office said in a news release Tuesday that 39-year-old Martin Kerr of Wellington took the money from an online account that was set up to benefit a Haysville girl who was burned in 2015.

Sedgwick County Judge Eric Commer on Thursday ordered Kerr to make minimum monthly payments of $150 over the next five years. Commer told him that he could serve six months in prison if he did not follow the terms of probation.

The judge noted more than 100 people donated to the GoFundMe account meant to be used to help the girl and her family with expenses related to her injuries.

FINNEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged aggravated assault.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A New York City man who hoped to become the only out-of-state resident to run for Kansas governor has been kicked off the ballot.

The State Objections Board voted 2-1 on Tuesday to remove Andy Maskin’s name from the Republican candidates on the ballot in the August primary. The decision is final absent a court order overruling the board.

Maskin traveled to Topeka last week and paid the $2,207 filing fee before delivering a stump speech to an empty bar.

His candidacy was immediately challenged by Jim Joice, the executive director of the Kansas Republican Party.

Kansas Attorney General Schmidt urged the board to wait for a Shawnee County District Court judge to issue a decision in a lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of out-of-state candidates.

SHAWNEE COUNTY— Investigators determined unattended cooking is the likely cause of a deadly house fire in northeast Topeka.

Just after midnight Tuesday fire crews responded to the fire at a one-story, wooden-framed house, according to a media release.

First-arriving crews reported the house was fully involved in flames. The fire appeared to have done the most damage on its back side.

The male victim, who wasn’t immediately identified, was found inside the residence, according to Topeka Fire Department Shift Commander Dan Macke.

Ammunition was stored inside the residence. The home also had a lot of clutter inside, according to Macke.

Fire crews stayed at the scene several hours after the blaze.

The blaze caused an estimated $75,000 in damage.

Topeka Fire Marshal Mike Martin says working smoke alarms weren’t present in the house.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say one person is dead following an overnight fire in northeast Topeka.

The blaze was called in at 12:08 a.m. Tuesday at a one-story, wooden-framed house.

Topeka Fire Department Shift Commander Dan Macke says that first-arriving crews reported the house was fully involved in flames. The fire appeared to have done the most damage on its back side.

The victim, who wasn’t immediately identified, was found inside the residence

Macke says ammunition was stored inside the residence. The home also had a lot of clutter inside.

Fire crews stayed at the scene several hours after the blaze.

Topeka fire investigators were called to determine the cause of the fire.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer and a group of fellow governors are backing President Donald Trump’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing what they called Trump’s “transformative efforts to bring peace to the Korean peninsula.”

In a letter this week to Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman Berit Reiss-Andersen, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and six fellow governors wrote that Trump’s “firm stance against nuclearization, coupled with his willingness to engage one-on-one with Pyongyang, has succeeded in opening new avenues of cooperation, friendship and unity between the two Koreas – and the rest of the world.”

The letter follows one from 18 U.S. House Republicans, who earlier this month formally nominated Trump for the award amid preparations for a historic summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has also promoted the idea, sending an email encouraging supporters to “Nominate President Trump to Win the Nobel Peace Prize” by adding their name to a list.

McMaster was an early Trump supporter in the 2016 election, formally backing him ahead of South Carolina’s first-in-the-South primary. Then the state’s lieutenant governor, the longtime South Carolina politician became governor when Trump picked then-Gov. Nikki Haley as his U.N. ambassador.

Trump is backing McMaster in next month’s five-way South Carolina GOP primary. The president appeared at an October fundraiser, and McMaster has featured footage from that event prominently in his television ads.

Other signatories to the governors’ letter include Guam Gov. Eddie Baza Calvo; Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant; Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey; West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice; and Maine Gov. Paul LePage.

SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged child abuse.

On Sunday, a Salina woman reported her daughter returned from weekend visitation with her father and was not acting normally.

The child alleged that over the weekend, her father tried to kill her by holding her down on a mattress and putting a plastic bag over her mouth. She told police he also pusher her into a wall, choked her and threw things at her, according to police captain Paul Forrester.

The child was checked for injuries at a local hospital and had bruising consistent with choking, according to Forrester.

On Monday, police arrested 56-year-old Terry Huehl of Salina. He is being held on requested charges of aggravated battery, battery, child abuse, aggravated endangering a child, and criminal threat, according to Forrester.

By BRIAN GRIMMETT

Industrial hemp is coming to Kansas, but first the Department of Agriculture has to figure out how to regulate it.

To get started, the department is holding public meetings to get input from potential growers.

“Please don’t be frustrated if our answer is, ‘We don’t know yet,’ because that’s part of why we’ve asked you to come so we can figure out what we need to figure out,” Chad Bontrager, Kansas Agribusiness Service director, said before beginning his presentation at a recent meeting in Manhattan.

The meeting consisted of an overview of the recently passed law opening up the pilot project, as well as presentations from two people involved in the operation of industrial hemp programs in Kentucky and Colorado.

Dozens of people participated in the meeting, including Christina Hett. She’s a farmer in Marion County who’s interested in hemp as an alternative to the wheat, soy beans and corn she already grows.

“The farming markets are terrible, and it’s just to the point that we have to find something else,” she said.

But even after the meeting, she still had lots of questions and concerns, especially about how much a license to grow would cost.

“It’s almost like they’re not thinking about this from the producer’s perspective,” she said.

The state Department of Agriculture’s goal is to have draft regulations completed by July 1 and to begin issuing licenses to grow by the beginning of 2019.

Brian Grimmett reports on the environment and energy for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @briangrimmett.