A Providence Forge man was sentenced this week to nine years in prison for embezzling $6.7 million in funds from his former employer, the Virginia Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Program.
John Hunter Raines, 38, was the chief financial officer and deputy director of the birth-injury program and pled guilty to mail fraud and money laundering offenses in October.
The birth-injury program pays monetary compensation to families of infants who suffer from brain or spinal cord injuries resulting from the birth process that render the infant developmentally and/or cognitively disabled.
According to court documents, his role included overseeing the finances including approximately $650 million in investments in 2023.
From January 2022 through October 2023, Raines stole more than $6.7 million through 59 separate wire transactions. Raines also used the birth-injury program debit card for personal gain.
Raines spent embezzled money on various personal expenses including:
- Eight luxury golf carts
- 2023 Chevrolet Suburban
- $100,000 on gambling including at Rivers Casino in Portsmouth, Colonial Downs race track and the Virginia Lottery
- $29,000 to an intimate partner
- Tens of thousands of dollars to a bank account in the name of Raines’ wife
- $9,000 on private limousine services including to chauffer Raines and his guests in a Mercedes limousine from Raines’ house to Virginia vineyards
- Purchases of cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin and Dogecoin
- Transferred funds to his brokerage accounts
- Tens of thousands of dollars towards his student loan debt, his mortgage and other loans
- $125,000 for private jet travel for Raines’ friends and family
- $34,000 to travel with his wife and his friends to Nashville for three days in a private jet
- $19,000 to purchase eight separate 2022 one-ounce American Gold Eagle Bullion coins and a 100-ounce silver bar
Virginia Code requires an independent certified public accountant selected by the board of directors to complete an audit of the program’s accounts each fiscal year.
Raines deliberately impeded the statutorily mandated audit process by failing to timely provide the files to auditors when requested. Due at least in part to Raines’ obstructive conduct, the statutorily mandated audits continue to be delayed by more than three years.
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Crystal Graham
