Former CFO in Connecticut, Ohio, charged with fraud

A former chief financial officer for three different hospital networks is facing federal fraud charges for allegedly stealing more than $200,000 from health systems in Connecticut and Ohio.

William Roe, 54, of Wilton, Conn., has been charged with fraud and interstate transport of stolen funds in the misappropriation of $166,166 from Danbury Health Systems in Danbury, Conn., and $33,500 from Catholic Health Partners in Lima, Ohio. He had been employed by each health system at the time the fraud was alleged to have occurred.

Federal officials claim Roe, who last served 17 months as senior vice president, treasurer and CFO for Danbury Health Systems and Danbury Hospital – a job which earned him more than $300,000 in salary and benefits per year – directed the health systems to draft checks to Cycle Software Solutions of Jessup, Pa., for contract management software.

Federal officials say Roe, who created Cycle Software Solutions in 2008, cashed the checks himself at a Pennsylvania bank.

According to federal officials, Roe signed an order authorizing Danbury Health Systems to pay $47,500 to Cycle Software Solutions on June 25, 2009. Roe authorized a second payment of $47,500 on or about Jan. 13, 2010, officials said, and a third check for $25,000 was issued on July 26. Those checks prompted hospital officials to undergo an audit.

Federal officials said Roe also allegedly secured a check for $33,500 from Catholic Healthcare Partners for work that he said Cycle Software Solutions had done for St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima, Ohio, one of the network’s hospitals.

Roe was arrested on Aug. 17 and booked in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, Conn., where he posted $100,000 bond. He was told not to leave the state – and was arrested three days later in his former hometown of Archbald, Pa., after which the bond was revoked. He is currently under custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Office.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 7 to answer charges of violating bail conditions by repeatedly trying to contact Danbury Hospital President and CEO John Murphy. Officials said he sent several e-mails and tried to make several phone calls to Murphy just hours after being ordered not to do so. He now faces federal charges of witness tampering and obstruction of justice, as well as a state charge of second-degree harassment.

Prior to joining Danbury Hospital in March 2009, Roe had been chief operating officer and CFO for the Moses Taylor Health Care System in Scranton, Pa., from 1998 to 2006 and CFO of the west central Ohio region of Catholic Healthcare Partners from 2006 to 2009.

According to the FBI, Roe also faces charges of defrauding Danbury Hospital out of $46,166 by altering the appraisal of his former home in Lima, Ohio, where he had lived before moving to Wilton to take the Danbury Hospital position. Danbury Hospital officials had agreed to pay Roe the difference between the appraised value of Roe’s house and what it sold for, officials said, so he allegedly boosted the value of the appraisal by about $70,000.