Wyoming Psychologist John R. Sink Sentenced for $6.2 Million Medicaid Fraud

December 17, 2018

A former Cheyenne psychologist and his wife were sentenced to prison Monday for making false statements to Wyoming Medicaid.

John R. Sink Jr., 68, and his wife, Diane M. Sink, 63, will serve 37 months in prison and must pay more than $6.2 million back to the Wyoming Department of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Sinks also were ordered to forfeit more than $750,000 in assets connected to the fraud, including cash, retirement accounts, vehicles and a house, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney for Wyoming.

The husband and wife were indicted in May by a federal grand jury on charges of health-care fraud, making false statements and money laundering.

They pleaded guilty to making false statements earlier this year.

Prosecutors and law enforcement accused them of billing Wyoming Medicaid for $6.2 million in group therapy that never occurred or didn't qualify to be state funded.

In May 2016, Wyoming Medicaid audited the Sinks, and court documents accused them of asking their employees to create backdated or phony treatment plans.

"Health-care fraud is a serious crime that increases costs and wastes health-care dollars on medically worthless or unnecessary activities," U.S. Attorney Mark Klaassen said in a news release. "Fraud involving a government health-care program ... is even more serious because it wastes taxpayer dollars and reduces the program's ability to serve needy individuals and families."

The case was investigated by the FBI and Wyoming Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant U.S. attorney Eric Heimann and special assistant U.S. attorney Travis Kirchefer prosecuted the case.

Source: “Prison sentence in Medicaid fraud case,” Gillette New Record, December 5, 2018, URL: https://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/news/wyoming/article_d13bfc64-ec96-51bf-ad2e-d9288c0de888.html