FBI: CP woman posed as a licensed psychologist, bilked insurers and Medicaid of more than $135,000 [Chicago Tribune]

A Crown Point woman is accused of healthcare fraud and aggravated identity theft in federal court, after allegedly using a false identity to establish Sanctuary Health LLC and bilk Indiana Medicaid and other insurers out of more than $135,000 in reimbursement payments over two years.

Christine L. Reese of Crown Point has a probable cause and detention hearing scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday before U.S. District Magistrate Judge John E. Martin at the U.S. District Courthouse in Hammond after she was held on the charges Aug. 23 following an FBI raid of her Crown Point home and practice.

A complaint filed in federal court by FBI Special Agent William Powell lays out what he described as a scheme to use another individual’s Indiana Professional Licensing Agency identification number to impersonate a licensed psychologist for the purpose of operating a psychology clinic she was not licensed to operate and allegedly seek reimbursement from Indiana Medicaid and other insurance providers for services Reese could not legally provide.

According to court records, state law requires psychologists be licensed by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, which requires applicants to show they have a doctoral degree in psychology.

“Christine Reese has never been licensed as a psychologist by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency,” the document reads.

Reese was granted a federally appointed defender and has been held without bond pending the hearing to allow for pretrial services to prepare a report and home assessment of the defendant’s residence.

Her attorney, federal public defender Peter Boyles, declined to comment on Tuesday.

In documents, Powell laid out a timeline showing that on or around Feb. 27, 2020 Reese applied for a clinical psychologist job with a comprehensive mental health service company in Munster which was an authorized Medicaid Provider. She allegedly represented herself as a clinical psychologist with a doctoral degree in psychology, according to the documents.

“Her application included a copy of a fraudulent diploma which falsely claimed that Reese obtained a doctor of psychology degree from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in August 2018.

“In reality, Reese does have a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Phoenix,” the documents continue.

Reese’s application to Company A also included a copy of a fraudulent license claiming she was licensed as a clinical psychologist with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. She also allegedly submitted an IPLA identification number and falsely claimed it was hers.

“The identification number that Reese used in her employment application really belonged to another individual, C.R., who was a licensed nurse in Indiana,” the affidavit continues.

The individual, identified as C.R. in court documents, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Reese was successful in her application to company A and was hired around March 20, 2020 as a contract clinical therapist where she worked full-time and would treat up to 51 patients including Medicaid recipients during a standard two-week period, according to court documents.

During Reese’s employment at Company A, Indiana Medicaid paid more than $36,000 for services Reese claimed she provided. Reese was terminated from her job around Sept. 24, 2021.

Just five days later, the IPLA issued a telehealth facility license to Sanctuary Counseling LLC, a business owned and or operated by Reese and Roy C. Reese Jr., who at the time was a boyfriend/business partner. They married Oct. 4, 2021, according to the affidavit.

On Aug. 24, Reese Jr., who resides in Chicago, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a Level 4 felony, and he bonded out of the Lake County Jail Tuesday by posting $2,500 bail. He has a court hearing in his case set for Wednesday.

The IPLA could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

A biography on the Sanctuary Counseling website under one of Reese’s aliases, Dr. Christine Lang, identifies her as a licensed clinical psychologist and the clinical executive director. The biography reads she obtained her Illinois State Clinical Psychology license in 2019 and a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Northwestern University, then received a doctorate in clinical psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. It also lists a variety of professional associations.

The address listed on Sanctuary Counseling’s website — 18125 Roy St., Suite 402, in Lansing, Illinois — is actually the location of the U.S. Post Office.

According to the court records, in November 2021, Reese used fraudulent and stolen information to enroll Sanctuary Counseling as an Indiana Medicaid Provider. On the application the complaint alleges she falsely identified herself in print and handwritten signature as “Dr.” Christine Reese. On a second form for Sanctuary Counseling she used the name of a licensed psychologist, identified as M.O. in the court documents, and claimed that M.O was a rendering provider for the clinic.

According to the complaint, that individual never worked for the clinic and denied signing the application bearing her name and said she never game anyone permission to put her signature on the document. In another alleged misdeed, Reese submitted an IPLA identification number and falsely represented it was hers on a Medicaid enrollment form. The IPLA number belong to a psychologist who never worked for Sanctuary Counseling.

Then, using the fraudulent information, Reese successfully was able to enroll Sanctuary Counseling as an Indiana Medicaid Provider. During a period beginning in November of 2021 and ending in January 2023, Reese through Sanctuary Counseling submitted about 506 claims for reimbursement to Indiana Medicaid for approximately 18 individual Medicaid recipients.

“In total Reece billed Medicaid and attempted to collect approximately $135,350 for mental health services purportedly rendered to Indiana Medicaid recipients,” the documents allege.

All of Reese’s electronic claim submissions were incomplete and subsequently denied.