Baltimore Attorney Facing Federal Indictment for Attempted Extortion
“A federal grand jury has indicted Stephen L. Snyder, age 72, of Miami Beach, Florida, on the federal charges of attempted extortion and interstate travel and use of an interstate facility to carry on unlawful activity, also known as the Travel Act. Snyder was the senior partner at a Baltimore-based law firm specializing in plaintiff-side medical malpractice litigation,” released in the The United States Attorney’s Office District of Maryland.
According to the indictment “between January and October 2018, Snyder attempted to obtain $25 million from the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) for himself, separate and apart from any claim by one of his clients, by using threats of economic and reputational harm to UMMS and its organ transplant program. Specifically, the indictment alleges that Snyder threatened that if UMMS did not pay him $25 million, Snyder would launch a public relations campaign against UMMS that alleged, among other things, that UMMS transplanted diseased organs into unsophisticated patients without informing them of the quality of the organs they were receiving in order to generate revenue. According to the indictment, Snyder told UMMS officials that the campaign would include: a front-page article in the Baltimore Sun; other national news stories; a press conference; advertisements on the Internet, including one that would run every time someone accessed the UMMS transplant site; and at least two videos Snyder produced and would air if his demand for a $25 million payment were not met.”
