Steward Health Care Accused of Spending Millions on Illegal Surveillance and Smear Campaign Against Viceroy Research

Jul 1, 2024, 01:19 PM

Steward Health Care has been accused of funding a smear campaign against Viceroy Research, which included illegal surveillance and unauthorized access to personal data. Viceroy Research claims that Steward's actions were directed by their general counsel, Herb Holtz. Financial records indicate that Steward initially paid for these activities from its US headquarters before charging the costs back to Malta. In May 2022, Steward’s senior executives met in Dallas to discuss these operations. An internal discussion from July 2023 revealed that Steward's executives were pushing for more aggressive operations against Viceroy, despite the firm's reservations. Viceroy Research has obtained footage showing private intelligence firms surveilling its members, including Fraser Perring, and plans to pursue legal action. Steward reportedly spent millions on these activities.