A St. Louis man was sentenced on Tuesday by a U.S. District Judge for illegally using his brother’s identity to fraudulently acquire funds from a Missouri healthcare program.
Christopher J. Spencer, 46, has been accused by prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Missouri of using his brother’s name to fraudulently acquire over $56,000 from the Missouri Medicaid Program. The alleged fraudulent activities took place between June 2018 and February 2022.
Prosecutors stated that Spencer’s brother used to reside with him and was acknowledged as a personal care provider. In this role, he would submit time sheets to document the various personal care services he provided, including housekeeping, meal preparation, bathing, grooming, and transportation.
Spencer continued to submit time sheets and visiting records even after his brother moved out in 2018 and stopped providing personal care.
Spencer allegedly forged his brother’s signature and submitted fraudulent paperwork to a Medicaid vendor, falsely listing his brother as a personal care provider, according to prosecutors.
Spenser misused the debit card that was intended to reimburse his brother from the Medicaid program. Instead of using it for its intended purpose, he used it to cover his personal expenses such as bills, rent, groceries, shopping, and hotel stays.
Prosecutors allege that he even went so far as to utilize his brother’s identity and personal details in order to secure loans and receive reimbursements from a Medicaid vendor.
In March, Spencer admitted to five counts of making false statements regarding health care benefits, according to prosecutors.
Spencer received a sentence of six months in prison and an additional six months of house arrest. Furthermore, he was mandated to reimburse Missouri’s Medicaid Program a total of $56,173.