FBI RAIDS CROWN POINT HOME OF TWO CON ARTISTS POSING AS FAKE PSYCH DOCTORS
Shortly after 6 AM, August 23, 2023 multiple neighbors in the Waterside Crossing subdivision in Crown Point reported FBI SWAT activity occurring in their neighborhood. The FBI was seen entering a home near 104th & Illinois with a Bearcat vehicle and SWAT.
The Indianapolis FBI Office did confirm to RNS that they executed federal warrants in the area but declined to comment further Wednesday of last week.
United States District Court documents unsealed this week revealed a con artist scheme of two fake Psychologists working out of numerous homes in Lake & Cook County as well as a professional mental health firm in Munster for over a year.
The female subject now identified in the criminal complaint as Christine Reese, (AKA Christine Lang or Christine Applewhite) allegedly committed Health Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft.
The documents allege Reese has never been licensed as a psychologist by the
Indiana Professional Licensing Agency which in turn she is not permitted to be reimbursed by Indiana Medicaid for psychology services that she was handling using another doctors medical credentials.
In February of 2020 Reese represented that she was a clinical psychologist with a Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) degree. On a job application included a copy of a fraudulent diploma which falsely claimed that Reese obtained the degree of Doctor of Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in August 2018. In reality, Reese never obtained this degree, according to court documents. Reese does have a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Phoenix. Reese’s application to a Munster mental health firm also included a copy of a fraudulent license claiming that Reese was licensed as a clinical psychologist with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. The professional license number Reese used was that of another Indiana nurse.
In March of 2020 Reese was hired by Mid-America Psychological Counseling Services after using the fake degrees and license number. The court documents allege on average Reese saw 51 patients during a standard two week period at Mid-America. During her employment there Reese collected $36,000 in fraudulent Medicare claims. In September of 2021 Reese was terminated from Mid America.
Five days after her termination the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency issued a Telehealth Facility license to Sanctuary Counseling, LLC, a business owned and/or operated by Reese and Roy Clearance Reese, Jr. Roy Clearance Reese, Jr. appeared to be her boyfriend or business partner at the time and later married Reese on October 4, 2021.
In November of 2021, Reese used fraudulent and stolen information to enroll Sanctuary Counseling, LLC as an Indiana Medicaid provider. On a Medicaid form Reese falsely represented another doctor as a rendering provider for Sanctuary Counseling. However, that doctor never worked for Sanctuary Counseling. Between in or about November 2021, and in or about January 2023, Resse, through Sanctuary Counseling, LLC, electronically submitted approximately 506 claims for reimbursement to the Indiana Medicaid program for approximately 19 individual Medicaid recipients, court documents allege. In total, Reese billed Medicaid and attempted to collect approximately $135,350.00 for mental health services purportedly rendered to Indiana Medicaid recipients. All of REESE’s electronic claim submissions were incomplete and subsequently denied, the documents stated.
Using the Change Healthcare billing clearinghouse platform. (Clearinghouses serve as an electronic station or hub that allows healthcare practices to electronically transmit claims to insurance carriers, including Medicare and Medicaid, in a secure way that protects patient health information. As an enrolled provider with the billing clearinghouse, the healthcare practice selects from a list of participating insurance carriers from which claims for reimbursement can be electronically
submitted.) Reese who was fraudulently identifying herself as “Dr. Christine Reese,” electronically submitted applications for Sanctuary Counseling, LLC to electronically submit reimbursement claims to multiple insurance carriers.
Investigators obtained bank records for Sanctuary Counseling LLC and the bank records show that numerous deposits designated as “HCCLAIMPMT” were deposited from various healthcare insurance carriers including, Blue Cross, Humana, Aetna, United Healthcare, and Anthem, among others. In addition, checks and Electronic Funds Transfers are
being deposited from ComPsych, a company that provides remote telehealth counseling, UMR Insurance, a third-party administrator owned by United Healthcare, and New Choice Intervention, an Illinois Medicaid provider located in Calumet City, Illinois. The bank records obtained showed more than $116,000 in health care deposits made till November of 2021.
Also arrested at the home during the FBI raid was Christine’s husband Roy Reese who was charged with unlawful possession of weapon by a violent offender. He was booked into the Lake County Jail. Roy was convicted of Murder in August of 1993 in Cook County.
Pictured below are fake credentials from the pairs website, Sanctuary Counseling, which was run out of homes in Lansing on Roy Street, Wren St in Munster, and a location in Crown Point on Matthews St that we were made aware of through research.
A separate lawsuit was filed against Mid America and Reese in August by a patient who became weary of the doctors credentials and billing that was taking place. The lawsuit alleges after discovering this fact, also discovered that Mid-America failed to check the credentials of Reese and confirm that she was educated, trained or licensed as a Doctor of Psychology at the time of hiring or throughout her employment with Mid-America. Despite Mid-America failing to confirm the credentials of Reese, they presented her as a licensed Doctor of Psychology and then failed to inform their patients of these findings.
The true amount of victims that entrusted in Reese with their personal information during sessions is still unclear but the few that we were able to speak to continue to have anxiety, stress, and significant trust issues because of these con artists.
Pictured below the couple arrested, Mid America in Munster, Sanctuary Website showing their fake credentials.
