Feds charge CHOP's former top lawyer in $1.7M theft

Roosevelt Hairston Jr., who was fired in February for allegedly embezzling money from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, was charged Thursday with mail fraud, money laundering, and filing a false tax return to try to hide the theft, the U.S. Attorney's office announced.

The charges are contained in a three-count information, an indication that a possible plea agreement is in the works.

Hairston, 45, who lives with his wife and four daughters in a 7,000-square-foot home in Malvern, held various senior positions at Children's before becoming the hospital's general counsel a little more than a year ago.

The federal charges, filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, allege that beginning in 1999, Hairston used dozens of false invoices and shell companies that he created to steal an estimated $1.7 million from Children's. He also allegedly stole the identity of a long-time friend and created bogus email addresses in the friend's name to trick hospital personnel into thinking the invoices were real.

"Hairston used the funds he stole from CHOP to live a lavish lifestyle, purchasing luxury items, like real estate, a luxury yacht with a captain to maintain the yacht, high-end automobiles, and many other luxury items," U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger said in a press release.

The government is seeking the forfeiture of any property derived from the theft up to -- but not limited to -- $1.7 million. If that property cannot be obtained, the government will "seek forfeiture of any other property of the defendant's," the complaint says.