In an action that one Florida GOP consultant said could be a late game-changer, a lawsuit was filed on August 9, 2010, seeking the release of a videotaped deposition given by GOP Gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott in April 2010, just days before he announced his candidacy.
The lawsuit, filed by Florida attorney Steve Andrews, contends that in March 2004, a company owned and directed by Rick Scott, Solantic LLC applied for a Florida Medical Care License for six clinics. The application listed Dr. Mark Glencross as the “Medical Director” for each of the clinics. Dr. Glencross, who had been an employee at Solantic, claimed he had never been asked nor given consent for his name to be included on the application. And he was never the Medical Director for the clinics. Under Florida law, it is a felony of the third degree to file false or misleading information on facility licensure applications. Glencross filed a lawsuit against Solantic in 2008 alleging fraud. Although it is uncommon for top executives to be questioned in cases such as this, Rick Scott was personally deposed on April 6, 2010 – six days before announcing his Gubernatorial bid. Almost immediately after the deposition, Solantic settled the lawsuit with Glencross for an undisclosed sum. As part of the agreement, the videotaped deposition of Scott was not filed with the Duval County Clerk’s office. The video is currently in the custody of Collier Court Reporting. According to a letter from Collier to Mr. Andrews, they are unable to release the video without the consent of both parties. Mr. Andrews states that Dr. Glencross’ attorneys have consented, but lawyers for Rick Scott are blocking the release and attempting to bury the deposition.
2010 08 09 Collier Reporting response ltr to SRA
Andrews’ lawsuit has been filed against Collier Court Reporting. He declares that because of the “history of illegal and criminal activity by Rick Scott” he should be considered a “public hazard.” – a legal designation under Florida law. The logic is Scott’s illegal activities could potentially put patients lives at risk. These are serious charges, and if the Court agrees, it could order the video be made available for public inspection.
To back his claims of “illegal and criminal history” Andrews cites fraud indictments brought by the Department of Justice in 1997 against Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), a previous company formed and run by Rick Scott. HCA pled guilty and was fined a record $1.7 billion for various acts of fraud and corruption.
In addition, 13 lawsuits were filed against HCA by patients during the time that Scott was in control of the company.
In addition to the criminal case against HCA, former employee John Schilling instigated a whistleblower lawsuit against HCA. Scott was scheduled to be deposed in that case but guilty pleas were entered prior to his appearance.
Schillings claims the FBI were hoping to nail Scott. In his book he states, “[FBI Agent Joe] Ford held no pity for the men who had been indicted and told me he hoped the FBI investigation might eventually lead to an indictment against Rick Scott.” Scott, however, failed to respond to official requests to be interviewed. Scott was ousted as CEO of HCA in 1997. Because the Sarbanes Oxley Act had not yet been passed by Congress, Scott was able to evade personal accountability for HCA’s crimes and instead left the company with over $300 million in severance.
On the campaign trail, Scott claims he has taken responsibility for HCA’s crimes, and has “learned lessons” from their mistakes. But according to new sources, allegations of fraud go beyond HCA and involve other companies controlled by Scott. A new whistleblower, Dr. Randy Prokes, provided information last month that included multiple allegations of fraud and illegal activity. this time at Solantic. The allegations Prokes brings forward are eerily similar to those committed by HCA, including Medicare, Medicaid, TriCare, and private insurance fraud, upcoding, and overbilling. If history is any indicator, law enforcement will once again be looking into Rick Scott – and by that time he may be the Republican nominee for Governor of Florida.
Scott has many questions to answer, and this may begin with him releasing the video deposition he provided only days before entering this race. Republican leadership in Florida, including Speaker of the House Larry Cretul, have called on Scott to release all details and depositions from his involvement in the various Solantic lawsuits. We will see if he complies, and if not, we can only ask what he has to hide.
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