A Florida woman has been accused of threatening a health insurer using the same words found on the bullets used to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Briana Boston, 42, has been charged over a threatening call she allegedly made to BlueCross BlueShield about a rejected medical claim.
Towards the end of the call, she allegedly told the operator: ‘Delay, deny, depose. You people are next.’
The messages were found on bullet casings at the scene of Thompson’s murder for which Luigi Mangione,26, is the prime suspect.
The affidavit for Boston’s arrest, obtained by KSN, noted the similarity in the wording.
Police contacted Boston at her home in Lakeland and said she admitted to using the phrases.
She reportedly told investigators that ‘healthcare companies played games and deserved karma from the world because they are evil.’
She allegedly claimed she chose the words ‘because it’s what is in the news right now’, referencing Thompson’s slaying.
However she stated she is not a gun owner or ‘a danger to anyone’, according to police.
She was charged with threats to conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.
Her bond was set at $100,000 with a judge remarking that it was, ‘appropriate considering the status of our country at this point’.
It has been just over a week since Thompson, 50, was gunned down in the middle of Manhattan while on his way to an investor conference at a Hilton Hotel.
His suspected killer evaded capture for six days despite a massive manhunt.
Mangione has since been charged with second degree murder over the death.
The words on the bullet casings bore similarities with Jay M Feinman’s 2010 book, ‘Delay, Deny, Defend’, which details ‘why insurance companies don’t pay claims and what you can do about it.’
Thompson’s assassination has ignited conversations about the state of the healthcare industry, with many painting the suspect as a vigilante-style hero.
Mangione is currently being held in a Pennsylvania jail where he is planning to fight extradition charges to New York.
He was picked up by law enforcement following a tip-off from an Altoona McDonald’s worker who served him while he was on the run.
Mangione’s mother Kathleen reported him missing in San Francisco last month, warning law enforcement that she hadn’t heard from him since July 1.
He had become estranged from his family after moving to Hawaii and aggravating a painful back condition in a surfing accident, according to reports.
Friends believe the crippling injury restricted his mobility, hampered his sex life and sent him spiraling into a mental health crisis.
