Why Did This Former Army Surgeon Go to Prison?

Why was former Army Lt. Col. Richard Craig Rooney sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison in 2015? Greed is the short answer.

Rooney failed to disclose his financial interest in medical device companies whose products he was recommending to the military, according to the U.S. Department of Justice in Western Texas.

U.S. District Judge David Briones in September 2015 sentenced Rooney to two and a half years in federal prison, fined him $15,000, and ordered him to forfeit nearly $4.3 million over what prosecutors describe as a $7.3 million healthcare fraud scheme. Rooney also was sentenced to three years of supervised release after he completed his prison term, MD+DI reported at the time.

The sentencing came after the federal government had already seized a house in Washington that belonged to Rooney.

Most recently living in Medina, WA, Rooney had faced a 65-count federal indictment detailing activities from 2002 through mid-2010. The indictment also named Rooney's wife, Angie Unchi Song, who had formerly worked as an otolaryngologist and cosmetic surgeon in El Paso, TX.

Rooney's attorney, Mary Stillinger, had initially professed his innocence. Rooney, however, eventually pleaded guilty and admitted he was employed by Altiva and Allure Spine Consulting between 2005 and 2010. He also admitted that he recommended the companies' products to his employers: Ft. Hood, TX-based Darnall Army Medical Center, and El Paso, TX-based William Beaumont Army Medical Center. The two medical centers ultimately purchased substantial volumes of products from Altiva and Allure without realizing Rooney had financial ties to those companies.

While taking payments from medical device companies is a fairly common practice for physicians, doctors employed by the U.S. military are under much stricter rules and are not allowed to take third-party payments. For example, an Army cardiologist in Washington was fined in 2011 for accepting gifts from Boston Scientific, according to The Seattle Times.

Rooney was not only busted for taking payments but for hiding his business relationships from the military.