Jun. 7—Weeks after Bay Area Hospital announced the hiring of a new chief operations officer, the hospital announced Larry Butler Jr. is no longer employed with the hospital.

The quick change came after it was learned Butler was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison on charges of wire fraud and false representation of a Social Security number.

In that case, Butler was convicted for defrauding the Louisiana Health Cooperative Inc. and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center in Louisiana.

In a press release announcing the sentence in 2015, federal prosecutors said Butler used false credentials, a false Social Security number and other false documentation to conceal significant criminal history and obtain pay and benefits from the two nonprofit healthcare companies. Prosecutors also said Butler used company credit cards to pay for personal expenses, including furniture, travel and meals. According to the press release, Butler obtained more than $119,000 in pay and other benefits by hiding his true background.

In the 2015 release, then United States Attorney Walt Green said, "This case demonstrates the damage that can be wrought by fraudsters who deceive good, hardworking people to obtain undeserved employment and then abuse their positions to steal more. This sort of conduct not only causes financial injury to the employers, it victimizes their honest employees. In this case, the fraudulent conduct is particularly egregious, given the noble missions of these victims to provide affordable health care and to treat and fight cancer."

In announcing that Butler was no longer with the hospital, Bay Area Hospital said the past criminal activity did not show up during a background check on Butler.

"Bay Area Hospital uses a comprehensive background check process to vet all of its new hires," the hospital said on a Facebook post. "Even the best system can be manipulated by an unscrupulous individual. That said, BAH's process is consistent with industry standards, and includes, amongst other things, a full state, county and national criminal background check, a minimum of three professional reference checks and in-depth interviews."

The hospital also said no patient or employee data was threatened during Butler's brief tenure at the hospital.

"BAH, like all modern health care organizations, has robust systems in place to protect its patients' and employees' data. We are confident that those systems work," the press release read. "A review of those systems indicates that no sensitive information has been breached. Nevertheless, we are conducting a thorough audit of our systems to ensure that all private data has been maintained in full and strict confidence."

In a press release announcing his hiring, Bay Area Hospital touted Butler's experience, mostly in healthcare institutions in California, but did not mention any link to the healthcare agencies in Louisiana.