Steward sues CEO for allegedly fleecing the company

Steward Health Care filed a lawsuit this week accusing its former CEO and other executives of defrauding the embattled hospital chain out of $262 million.

The Texas

bankruptcy filing

, dated July 15, alleges that Steward founder and CEO, Ralph de la Torre, and three other executives — Michael Callum, James Karam, and Sanjay Shetty — carried out the scheme that led to the company’s financial collapse.

Steward alleges that the executives invested about $1.1 billion into five struggling Florida hospitals due to de la Torre’s “personal desire to build a hospital empire,” but overpaid by about $200 million for the properties, according to the report.

The complaint also claims that the insiders took a $111 million dividend in 2021 despite knowing that the company was in financial distress, with De la Torre allegedly receiving $81.5 million of the payout.

The lawsuit alleges that De la Torre used company funds to buy luxury items, including a $30 million superyacht and a $4.3 million Texas ranch. The money also paid for as much as $14.5 million worth of travel in private jets, the complaint states.

“Plaintiffs bring this action against former insiders of Steward who, through their greed and bad faith misconduct, operated Steward with the aim of enriching themselves at the expense of the company, its creditors and the patients and communities that Steward served,” the complaint states. “These insiders pilfered Steward’s assets for their own material gain, while leaving the Company and its hospitals perpetually undercapitalized and insolvent.”

At its height, the hospital chain operated a dozen hospitals in Massachusetts. In 2024, it

filed for bankruptcy

after collapsing under pressure due to debt and staff shortages. Since then, Steward has sold off six of its Massachusetts hospitals and closed two others.

A spokesperson for de la Torre released a statement Thursday saying he “disputes the allegations of wrongdoing and will vigorously defend himself against them.”