ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Henry E. Autrey accepted a plea of guilty from Shannon Nenninger on October 12, 2021 for the crimes of conspiracy involving health care fraud, making false statement to a government agency, theft of government funds, and social security fraud.
In September 2020, a federal grand jury indicted Nenninger and others. According to the plea agreement, Nenninger, who was a former Anheuser-Busch In-Bev employee learned that Dr. Thomas Hobbs could assist her in obtaining disability payments from the Social Security Administration, Prudential Insurance of America Companies, and MetLife by exaggerating her medical conditions and claiming that she was totally and permanently disabled. As a result, between January 8, 2013 and November 28, 2017, Nenninger paid Dr. Hobbs $6,100 for his efforts in exaggerating Nenninger’s medical conditions to qualify her for the disability payments. These fees were in addition to those charged by Dr. Hobbs for any medical treatments.
While Nenninger claimed to be so disabled that she could not work, she was travelling internationally and throughout the United States, attending concerts, working in her yard, washing her car, going to various social events, and going fishing. Believing the misrepresentations to be true, the Social Security Administration and the private insurers granted Nenninger disability benefits. Between January 8, 2013 and September 30, 2021, Nenninger fraudulently received more than $457,104 in disability benefit payments and caused the payment of $3,501.88 by Blue Cross Blue Shield to the chiropractors for their medically unnecessary tests and treatments.
The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Dorothy McMurtry and Tracy Berry are handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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