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Apr 21, 2024

Crown Point woman charged in health care fraud case denied bond

U.S. Magistrate Judge John E. Martin called the crimes of health care fraud and aggravated identity theft allegedly committed by a Crown Point woman egregious in both their scope and boldness before

U.S. Magistrate Judge John E. Martin called the crimes of health care fraud and aggravated identity theft allegedly committed by a Crown Point woman egregious in both their scope and boldness before denying bond.

Martin said during the hearing in U.S. District Court in Hammond that there was “no way ever” he would place Christine L. Reese of Crown Point on house arrest — even with an ankle monitor — because her document forgery skills at the heart of the complaint against her are too good to ignore.

Reese was charged Aug. 23 after an FBI raid on her Crown Point home produced evidence confirming she used others’ identities to obtain a job as a licensed clinical psychologist — she is not one — with Mid-America Counseling Services.

Once Mid-America Counseling fired her, she opened her own telehealth psychology practice Sanctuary Counseling LLC five days later, with Roy C. Reese Jr., who at the time was a boyfriend/business partner. They married Oct. 4, 2021, according to court documents. There she passed herself off as a licensed clinical psychologist who treated patients, made recommendations to officials on patients’ behalf, and then proceeded to bill Medicaid and private insurers for services she was not legally authorized to provide.

Reese Jr., who resides in Chicago, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a Level 4 felony, as a result of the raid on Reese’s Illinois Street residence in Crown Point after weapons were found in a backpack at the home that allegedly belonged to Reese Jr. Reese Jr., previously was found guilty of murder in 1993 and was also convicted of smuggling contraband into a prison and possession of contraband in a penal institution on Dec. 1, 1999, according to court records.

He denied ownership of the weapons and bonded out of Lake County Jail Tuesday by posting $2,500 bail.

Reese Wednesday sat next to her federal court appointed defense attorney Peter Boyles, looking down at the table expressionless as Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Wolff outlined in detail her alleged crimes, showing evidence obtained from her home that supported the claims.

Among the evidence discovered at the home was a copy of Reese’s certified birth certificate as well as an altered certified birth certificate that changed her first name from “Christine” to “Julie Christine” with “Julie” added to the document in an almost identical font as the original, Wolff said.

The forged birth certificate made her initials appear to be the same as those of the licensed psychologist whose Indiana Professional Licensing Agency identification number she allegedly fraudulently used to open her telehealth practice.

“It appears the evidence (in this case) is very strong,” Martin said.

Reese stands accused of using the IPLA identification number of three different individuals to carry out various parts of the scheme that enabled her to get a job as a licensed clinical psychologist; open her own practice as such; illegally treat patients; and then bill Medicaid and other insurers for her services.

She used the identification number of a LaPorte-area registered nurse bearing the same first and last name to get her first job as a clinical psychologist. She used the forged birth certificate and the IPLA number of a clinical psychologist with similar initials to apply to open her practice. She also use the IPLA number of a former supervisor at Midwest Counseling, indicating the doctor was a supervising doctor at her practice when she applied to be able to accept Medicaid, according to Wolff.

That this was not Reese’s first offense but more a pattern of sophisticated criminal behavior also weighs into his decision to deny bond, he said. Martin cited charges stemming from an arrest in Wisconsin where Reese in 2005 was convicted of identity theft involving 26 individuals. All of her current criminal activity occurred after she was sentenced to 50 months in prison, the high end of the 41 to 51 month sentencing recommendation at the time, he said.

Her document counterfeiting skills have only gotten greater since that first case, he said.

Martin appeared incredulous at what he described as the boldness of Reese pretending to be a doctor and treating people in need, going so far as to make recommendations in one instance concerning a custody case and another about a patient’s fitness to own a gun.

“It’s just so egregious. It’s not just the egregiousness of it. It’s the boldness to do those things and not care about the harm…,” Martin said, adding Reese’s behavior shows she will do about anything to make money or whatever it was she was trying to do.

Martin said the potential damage Reese may have caused by impersonating a doctor is great. He said there is no way to know if she was proving care to individuals who may have been suicidal or homicidal or with other issues that needed professionally qualified care.

“It’s a compelling case. It’s an unusual but compelling case…,” Martin said.

“This is not your typical health care fraud case,” Wolff said. Most cases of health care fraud usually involved health care practitioners who are licensed in their fields and may even be good at their discipline, but have gone afoul of Medicaid billing rules.

“This is nothing like this. This defendant is a sophisticated, experienced criminal. When one part of her scheme failed, she did something else,” Wolff said.

Wolff said unlike in the Wisconsin case, here Reese is not just stealing identities, she is claiming to be something she is not qualified to be.

Wolff said Reese has 12 prior felonies including one for failing to return from furlough in arguing against bond. He said other charges also show a pattern of defying the court.

“This defendant does not and will not comply,” Wolff said.

Boyles said the defense had no further comment other than what was provided in the pretrial report.

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