News-Press NOW
Craig Anthony Reynolds, the 62-year-old CEO of Medical Cost Sharing Inc., was sentenced to over 17 years in federal prison for his involvement in an $8 million wire fraud conspiracy tied to a Christian health care sharing ministry. Reynolds received a sentence of 17 years and six months without the possibility of parole, along with a restitution order exceeding $300,000.
The court also mandated that Reynolds forfeit $462,771 in assets, which includes proceeds from the sale of his St. Joseph home, cash from another property, and the values of a Lincoln Navigator and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, among other items.
From 2014 until December 2022, Reynolds operated Medical Cost Sharing, a tax-exempt organization, where he served as president and CEO. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and making false statements on a tax return late last year.
In a related case, co-defendant James L. McGinnis, 77, who co-founded Medical Cost Sharing and was the chief operating officer, also pleaded guilty to similar charges in April and is awaiting sentencing.
Both men admitted to defrauding hundreds of members by falsely marketing Medical Cost Sharing as a legitimate “Health Care Sharing Ministry.” They collected over $8 million from members but only disbursed 3.1% of that amount in claims, siphoning off the majority for personal use.
Between December 2015 and December 2022, Reynolds and McGinnis misappropriated at least $5,168,268 from contributions. Notably, the organization failed to pay any claims for nearly two years, from February 22, 2021, to December 2022, despite collecting nearly $1.2 million during that timeframe.
Reynolds also confessed to submitting false tax returns, claiming no taxable income for 2019 while actually earning at least $354,292. He filed fraudulent federal and state tax returns from 2018 to 2021 and defrauded the U.S. Treasury by applying for COVID tax credits using false information.
Reynolds was taken into custody immediately to begin serving his sentence.
