A Midlothian man pled guilty to mail fraud, federal program theft, and tax evasion in connection with a scheme to misappropriate millions of dollars from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). According to court documents, beginning on Aug. 10, 2013, Adam Lamar Harrell, 41, was an employee of VDH and on Sept. 10, 2019, became the Associate Director of the Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS). As OEMS’s Associate Director, Harrell was responsible for managing Virginia’s emergency response programs, epidemiology research, and the information technology systems that Virginia’s emergency medical service providers rely on, among other responsibilities. Harrell used his position to direct payments from VDH to a company he registered and controlled, Strategic Tech Innovations, LLC. Harrell concealed his ownership of and affiliation with Strategic Tech from VDH and OEMS, and used this entity to embezzle funds from his employer through two separate means.
From January 2021 through May 2023, Harrell created 15 fraudulent invoices for services and technology that Strategic Tech would purportedly provide to OEMS. Harrell set exorbitant and non-market prices for the various line items on the invoices, knowing the vast majority of those items would not be provided by Strategic Tech. Without OEMS’s knowledge or approval, Harrell would submit these fraudulent invoices to the Western Virginia EMS Council (WVEMS), a regional emergency medical services council that serves as a pass-through for OEMS payments to vendors. Each of these invoices were paid by WVEMS with OEMS funds. By directing the invoices to WVEMS instead of Accounts Payable at OEMS, Harrell circumvented the requirement that Strategic Tech be approved as a vendor to VDH and OEMS and evaded scrutiny by the Accounts Payable department. As the Associate Director of OEMS, Harrell was able to unilaterally approve the same fraudulent Strategic Tech invoices he drafted. Harrell deposited each of the checks he illegally received from WVEMS into the Strategic Tech checking account he controlled and used the funds for personal expenses, including the purchase of real estate, luxury vehicles, dozens of firearms, and jewelry. In total, Harrell received $4,337,395 in OEMS funds.
