Woman Sentenced for Pretending to be Licensed Psychologist

HAMMOND, Ind. — A woman in northwest Indiana has been sentenced to seven years in prison for lying about being a licensed clinical psychologist.

On Jan. 8, 62-year-old Christine Reese of Crown Point was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon after she pleaded guilty to health care fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred, Reese falsely claimed that she was licensed as a clinical psychologist and lied about holding a degree of Doctor of Psychology.

Using forged documents, Reese convinced a mental health services provider in Munster, Indiana, to hire her to work as a clinical therapist. With the company, Reese made appointments with patients, including Indiana Medicaid recipients and children.

Then, Reese started conducting appointments with patients out of her home under the business name Sanctuary Counseling. She continued to falsely claim to be a psychologist and billed people for the services.

Through her scheme, Reese stole the identities of three different legitimate medical professionals and used their names and license numbers to enroll herself in Indiana Medicaid and submit bills. She defrauded Indiana Medicaid and Medicare Advantage Plans out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“This extensive fraud not only contributed to the strain on healthcare programs designed to help the most vulnerable among Indiana’s citizens, but callously preyed upon patients deceived into thinking the therapy they were receiving was from a qualified professional, said Mildred. “My thanks to the state and federal investigators whose work led to the significant and necessary sentence that was handed down today.”

Mildred mentioned that Reese had over ten previous felony convictions. She’s been ordered to pay $268,746.37 in restitution.

Involved in the investigation was Indiana Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.