2 VA Employees Pocketed Cash In Exchange For Medical Orders: DOJ

BOLINGBROOK, IL — Two employees of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs pocketed cash from vendors in Bolingbrook and Romeoville in exchange for giving them orders for medical equipment, according to indictments returned in federal court in Chicago.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois said in a release that Andrew Lee and Kimberly Dyson worked as prosthetic clerks in the Veterans Health Administration Prosthetics Service in Chicago.

As part of their duties, Lee and Dyson selected vendors to order medical equipment for VA patients, and then paid the vendors using government purchase cards, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. In exchange for their efforts with certain vendors, Lee and Dyson received cash payments from individuals at the vendor companies, a release states.

Lee, 66, of Chicago, is charged with one count of wire fraud, and schemed with Darren Smith, who operated a medical distribution company in Bolingbrook, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Lee would place orders for medical equipment from Smith's company in exchange for cash kickbacks to Lee, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Lee placed orders with Smith’s company for unnecessary and more costly monthly rentals of certain medical equipment, instead of purchasing the equipment as VA physicians had ordered, so that the VA would pay more money to Smith’s company, the attorney's office said.

The scheme fraudulently caused the VA to overpay Smith’s company by more than $1.38 million from 2016 to 2020. In exchange, Lee pocketed kickbacks from Smith of at least $220,000, the indictment states.

The indictment also charges Smith, 57, of Hazel Crest, with seven counts of wire fraud.

Dyson, 49, of Chicago, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and four counts of bribery. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Dyson conspired with Irvin Lucas IV, who owned a medical supply company in Romeoville.

The indictment describes several instances in which Dyson placed orders with Lucas’s company and then sent text messages to Lucas asking for certain amounts of cash, the attorney's office said in a release. Lucas paid Dyson by transferring money into her checking account or providing her with a debit card to withdraw the funds, according to the attorney's office.

From 2018 to 2020, Dyson accepted at least $39,850 from Lucas for steering the orders to his company, the indictment states.

In addition to the conspiracy and bribery counts against Dyson, the indictment charges Lucas, 40, of North Hollywood, California, with one count of bribery conspiracy.

“Schemes to fraudulently corrupt the procurement process cheat the government and deserving bidders,” said U.S. Attorney John Lausch. “We will work aggressively with our law enforcement partners to safeguard our nation’s taxpayers.”

Lee and Dyson were charged in separate indictments returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Arraignments in federal court in Chicago have not yet been scheduled.

“The corruption of VA employees cannot be tolerated,” said Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Central Field Office Gavin McClaren. “These alleged fraudulent activities erode public trust and undermine the value of fair market competition. The VA [Office of Inspector General's] appreciates the US Attorney’s Office for its commitment in helping hold these defendants accountable.”