BALTIMORE (AP) - A federal grand jury has indicted a Maryland malpractice attorney, saying he threatened to launch a campaign to embarrass the University of Maryland Medical System if it didn’t pay him $25 million, prosecutors said Monday.
Stephen L. Snyder, 72, of Miami Beach, Florida, is charged with attempted extortion and interstate travel and use of an interstate facility to carry on unlawful activity, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.
According to an eight-count indictment, Snyder attempted in 2018 to obtain $25 million from UMMS for himself by threatening the system and its organ transplant program. Specifically, Snyder threatened to launch a public relations campaign against UMMS that alleged, among other things, that the system transplanted diseased organs into unsophisticated patients without informing them of the quality of the organs they were receiving in order to generate revenue.
Also, the indictment said Snyder told UMMS officials that the campaign would include a front-page story in The Baltimore Sun, advertisements on the internet and at least two videos Snyder produced and would air if his demand wasn’t met.
In addition, the indictment said Snyder allegedly demanded that UMMS disguise the $25 million payment as a sham consulting arrangement between Snyder and UMMS. He’s also accused of threatening that a lawyer working for the insurance program insuring UMMS and its faculty physician groups would lose her job and threatened to harm the professional reputation of a UMMS doctor if they didn’t help Snyder get the $25 million payment.
The Sun reported on Monday that Snyder has denied the accusations, saying in July that the hospital system filed a complaint with the attorney grievance commission to silence him.
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