Health care fraud costs billions of dollars every year.
48-year-old Christine Reiss, the ex-wife of former Greenville, MI police chief Mark Reiss, was recently found guilty of health care fraud. According to Montcalm County court records, the jury found her guilty of continuing to use her ex husband’s health care, even after the pair was divorced.
The charges have not only affected Christine. Mark Reiss is also in the hot seat, with a pending trial scheduled for June 6th where he will face charges of health care fraud as well.
Christine Reiss and her husband divorced in August of 2014. Though, according to the Michigan State Police investigation, she continued to use her ex husband’s health care as if they were still married. Blue Cross Blue Shield received an anonymous tip about the fraud, which they passed on to the MSP for further investigation.
According to Michigan State Police, in Greenville, Montcalm County, all city employees are required to inform the city when there are status changes in their lives. This would include marriages, divorces and deaths in the family. Mark Reiss’ defense attorney says that he mentioned his divorce on a number of occasions at work, and also told several city officials about it. He certainly wasn’t trying to hide it.
However, that may not have been enough. The prosecutor’s office claims that Mark allowed his wife to continue using his health care after their divorce, which they say is fraudulent.
Court documents show that Mark failed to remove Christine from his Blue Cross health policy after their divorce was final. Christine Reiss is accused of illegally using her husband’s health care on nine separate occasions, which is said to have cost Blue Cross Blue Shield a total of $113,000.
Under federal law, health care fraud is defined as “knowingly and willfully executing a plan to defraud a health care benefit program or to falsely obtaining property from a health care benefit program.” It’s connected with the delivery or payment for health care services or products that you are not legally entitled to. Although Reiss was convicted of the state of Michigan crime rather than the federal crime, the definitions remain similar.
Christine was accused of ten criminal charges in connection with this case. However, the jury only found her guilty on three counts, namely Making a False Claim, Making a False Statement and Concealing Information. Judge Mark Trusock ordered her jailed and scheduled her sentencing for June 22, 2017 in the Kent County Circuit Court. The case was moved to Kent County from Montcalm County because of possible conflicts of interest involving the former Greenville Police Chief.
Health care fraud is a serious crime, and carries severe penalties under both federal and state law. A person convicted of health care fraud is likely to face years in prison and steep fines in addition to the likelihood that they will be excluded from all federal healthcare programs.
If you or someone you love has been accused of any type of fraud, whether it’s embezzlement, check fraud, retail fraud, or tax evasion, call The Kronzek Firm immediately. If you need aggressive fraud defense, we are available to assist you. We practice in all state and federal courts in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula and have extensive experience and success. Call us today at 866 766 5245. Someone is available to discuss your case 24/7.