Financially troubled Steward Health Care, which operates eight hospitals in Florida, is under federal investigation over fraud and corruption allegations related to public hospitals it manages in Malta.
“Steward Health Care can confirm it is aware of and cooperating with an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice,” the health system said in an email to media outlets. “As a matter of policy, Steward will have no further comment on this investigation as it remains ongoing.”
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The Dallas-based health system filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May and is seeking to sell its assets, including its 31 hospitals, in a series of auctions.
The probe was first reported by CBS News, which cited sources who said Justice Department prosecutors in Boston were looking at possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law that prohibits Americans from engaging in other corrupt practices overseas.
In 2017, Steward expanded overseas to Malta, where it has a deal to run three public hospitals that have been under investigation by authorities on the Mediterranean island nation.
In May, the Maltese government filed charges against more than a dozen people, including a former prime minister, accusing them of money laundering and bribery in connection with the Steward deal.
Steward won the Malta contract despite a 2023 audit that found it had financial issues, including a failure to issue timely financial data. The company then accepted payment for services not rendered.
Steward and its executives have not been charged in connection to the probe.
Meantime, a deadline passed Monday for Steward to accept bids on seven hospitals in Massachusetts, four in Arizona and one in Texas. As of late Monday, the company has not identified any bidders on this first round of sales. An auction is planned for Thursday.
The second round, which includes Steward's Florida hospitals and four Texas facilities, has a bid deadline of Aug. 12.
In Florida, Steward operates Coral Gables Hospital, Hialeah Hospital, North Shore Medical Center and Palmetto General Hospital in Miami-Dade County; Florida Medical Center in Broward; Melbourne Regional Medical Center and Rockledge Regional Medical Center in Brevard; and Sebastian River Medical Center in Indian River.
Also, the Boston Globe reported that Steward pushed back the bid deadline for its Stewardship Health physicians group by a week, saying it’s negotiating with multiple parties.
Steward reportedly had a deal to sell the affiliate to UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum in June, but it was called off, with Steward saying it would continue to seek other buyers.
Information from WBUR in Boston and WLRN in Miami was used in this report.
