The Department of Justice is conducting a federal investigation into Dallas-based Steward Health Care over allegations of foreign corruption, involving potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as reported by The Boston Globe and CBS News. This law prohibits U.S. citizens and companies from engaging in corrupt activities abroad, including bribery. Steward, which owns dozens of hospitals nationwide including nine in Massachusetts, filed for bankruptcy in May 2024. The company's international dealings, especially the management of three state-owned hospitals in Malta, have come under scrutiny with the company's executives accused of participating in a bribery scheme connected to the hospitals' takeover.
Facing several legal challenges, with a spokesperson for Steward confirming the investigation in an e-mailed statement to The Boston Globe, "As a matter of policy, Steward will have no further comment on this investigation as it remains ongoing." In a separate segment, the troubles of Steward Health Care have loomed large with their financial woes in Massachusetts, where they have been confronted with hospital service reductions, shortages of critical supplies, and an overwhelming number of unpaid bills to vendors, as chronicled by The Boston Globe. During the period, Steward also spent millions on private intelligence to surveil critics rather than settling its debts to critical supply providers.
Not standing alone, a whistle-blower complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission last year alleged that the company's actions in Malta violated corruption laws, as reported by Boston 25. The investigations into the company also cover the company's attempt to sell its physician group, Stewardship Health, to Optum, which federal officials are reviewing for potential antitrust violations.
In a statement obtained by CBS News, Senator Edward J. Markey expressed, "Steward must be investigated, and I hope the company and the corporate executives who facilitated Steward's actions face consequences that reflect the lives, livelihoods, safety, and security that they stole from communities." The Senator's remarks come amid reports that the company's financial maneuvers have caused public health consequences, such as the case of a woman who died post-childbirth at a Steward hospital in Boston, after the facility was alleged to be missing a life-saving device due to repossession over unpaid bills.
Currently, bids for Steward's Massachusetts hospitals are due soon, with the hope that new ownership might stabilize the beleaguered facilities' operations. As the situation unfolds, all eyes remain peeled on what next steps federal investigators will take in unraveling the complexities of Steward Health Care's recent activities domestically and abroad.
