The co-founder of a Christian "healthcare sharing ministry" in St. Joseph, Mo., has been sentenced for his role in an $8 million wire fraud conspiracy that defrauded hundreds of members of the charity.
According to a Nov. 22 news release from the Department of Justice, James McGinnis was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison without parole on Nov. 21. U.S. District Judge Greg Kays also ordered Mr. McGinnis to pay $7,758,908 to the victims, $143,131 to the Internal Revenue Service and $10,787 to the Missouri Department of Revenue.
In April, Mr. McGinnis pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of making false statements on a tax return. He co-founded Medical Cost Sharing, a tax-exempt organization, and served as its COO from 2014 to December 2022. Another co-founder, Craig Reynolds, also of St. Joseph, has pleaded guilty and been sentenced on the same charges.
Both men admitted to using false and fraudulent pretenses to market Medical Cost Sharing as a "Health Care Sharing Ministry" and defraud hundreds of members out of more than $8 million total in contributions, while paying only 3.1% in health care claims. The co-founders pocketed more than $5 million between December 2015 and December 2022 as a result of the scam.