David Hernon, Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Scheme, Missouri 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A fourth defendant in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme has pleaded guilty to his role in the scam, which impersonated representatives of Kansas City-based Cerner Corporation to entice dozens of physicians to invest more than $6 million and sell an MRI to a Dallas area hospital for more than $1 million.

David Hernon, 54, of Fishers, Ind. (formerly of Richardson, Texas), waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to a federal information that charges him with participating in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud from Aug. 25, 2008, to Feb. 19, 2015.

Hernon is the fourth defendant to plead guilty. David Tayce, 66, of Lucas, Texas, and Richard Bryant, 40, and his wife, Christina Bryant, 40, both of Sachse, Texas, have also pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy.

The co-conspirators created dozens of companies which were designed to impersonate existing credible industry leaders. They registered Internet domains similar to other existing company domains in order to make e-mail accounts appear legitimate, leased virtual office space in the city of the existing company, established telephone numbers in the area code of the existing company and impersonated actual people who worked for the real companies.

One of the companies that the co-conspirators impersonated was Cerner Corporation, a global supplier of health care information technology solutions, services, devices, and hardware. Cerner, which has more than 14,000 employees globally, is headquartered at 2800 Rockcreek Parkway, North Kansas City, Mo.

Hernon faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an additional $100 special assessment on the conspiracy charge.

The scheme involved the sale of a purported newly developed MRI system to Dallas Medical Center, and then conspired to cover it up by providing false testimony during the litigation of a subsequent lawsuit. Co-conspirators convinced employees of Dallas Medical Center and Prime Health Care (which acquired the hospital during the course of the fraud scheme) that they were working with Cerner.

David Hernon, Defendant, Participating in a Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Kansas City, Mo. 2008-2015, Guilty Plea, Pending sentencing.

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