Allegedly Failed to Report Financial Benefits He Received from Individuals and Companies Doing Business with Walter Reed

A federal grand jury has indicted David Laufer, age 63, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, formerly of Bethesda, Maryland, on five counts of the federal charge of making false statements.

The indictment was returned on December 16, 2019, and was unsealed upon his arrest on January 28, 2020. Laufer had his initial appearance yesterday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt and was released pending trial.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig, Jr. of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service -Mid-Atlantic Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon, Office of Investigations, and Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.

According to the indictment, until May 2019, Laufer worked as the Chief of the Prosthetics and Orthotics Department at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the largest joint military medical center in the United States.

Walter Reed is located in Bethesda and provides medical services, including orthotic and prosthetic services to U.S. service members and their dependents, including wounded soldiers.

Laufer’s job required him to complete annual Confidential Financial Disclosure forms which required him to report: all sources of outside income greater than $200; any business outside the U.S. Government in which Laufer or his spouse was an employee or consultant, whether or not compensated; any agreements or arrangements concerning past, current, and future employment; and travel-related reimbursement or other gifts totaling more than $350 from any one source during the reporting period.

The indictment alleges that Laufer failed to report financial benefits he received from Person B and Company B, located in Germantown, Maryland and owned, operated, and controlled by Person B. Company B provided prosthetics and orthotics materials to Walter Reed in return for payments from the government.

According to the indictment, Person B regularly interacted with Laufer about Company B’s business with Walter Reed.

Furthermore, the indictment alleges that Laufer falsely told federal agents that he had never received money, gifts, or sporting event tickets from any vendor doing business before the Prosthetics and Orthotics Department when in fact Laufer had received financial benefits, including travel and sporting event tickets, from Person Band Company B.

DODIG.mil (February, 2020) Former Employee of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Facing Federal Indictment in Maryland

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