St. Louis, MO - Pamela Hoernschemeyer was sentenced to 37 months in prison, 5 years supervised release, ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $135,727 and special assessment of $300 for bank fraud.

According to court documents, SSM Health Care (SSM) is a health care organization, sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, that operates hospitals, nursing homes and physician practices in four Midwestern States. Lackland Acquisition II, LLC, d/b/a Healthcare Strategic Initiatives (HSI) and operating as Nextgen Healthcare contracted with SSM for patient billing and collections, claims submissions, remittance and payment posting, and account management. HSI has its corporate offices in St. Louis. Pamela Hoernschemeyer was employed by HSI as a supervisor, and was in charge of the SSM account.

On many occasions, Hoernschemeyer submitted fraudulent check request forms to SSM requesting that SSM issue a refund check to a purported patient. The names of these purported patients were variations of Hoernschemeyer’s own name, as well as variations of both her husband and daughter’s names. As a result of this fraudulent activity SSM issued checks to the purported patients under the false names that she had provided, and she deposited the checks into several different personal accounts. Through her fraudulent conduct, she obtained in excess of $100,000 which she used for personal purchases and spending.

Additionally, following her indictment, she submitted false and forged documents to the Court, falsely representing that her current employer was aware of the pending bank fraud charges as required by the Court’s bond conditions. Her bond was revoked and she remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshal.

PAMELA HOERNSCHEMEYER, St. Peters, MO, pled guilty in September to three felony counts of bank fraud and appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge Carol E. Jackson.

This case was investigated by the Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.