The fund keeps its headquarters at 7501 Boulder View Drive on the Southside. (BizSense file photos)
In a packed courtroom filled both with his supporters and the families of disabled children claiming to be his victims, John Hunter Raines, the former CFO of the Virginia Birth Injury Fund, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison on Wednesday afternoon for stealing millions of dollars from the program.
Raines, 39, admitted to skimming $6.75 million from the Richmond-based quasi-government agency, which manages a $700 million fund meant to compensate those who suffer neurological injuries at birth.
The New Kent County resident was caught using the money to fund an alcohol and gambling addiction, as well as limo rides, private jet trips and payments to a mistress.
Prosecutors said the federal government has put a lien on Raines’ home because it was purchased and its mortgage paid off in part using funds from VBIF. It’s a 3,400-square-foot house in the neighborhood built around Brickshire Golf Club in Providence Forge. Raines and his wife purchased the property in 2023, at the height of his scheme.
Despite Raines’ vows during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing to work as hard as he can to pay the money back through restitution, attorneys told Judge John Gibney that the stolen funds have been spent.
“As best we can tell… the money is all gone,” said Michael Moore, an attorney representing the VBIF, adding that the program is considering filing a civil lawsuit against Raines to gain access to more of his financial records in order to dig for more restitution funds.
“The money was gambled away,” said Raines’ attorney, William Mann of Northern Virginia law firm Simms Showers.
Raines, who attended Virginia Tech, earned a master’s degree from Liberty University and has a CPA certification, was arrested by U.S. Postal Service inspectors last August and pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.
He was initially accused of stealing $4.8 million but later admitted to a total of $6.75 million.
Raines worked as CFO and deputy director of VBIF, formally known as the Virginia Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Program, from 2020 until his termination in 2023.
The program was created by state legislation and paid for by physicians, hospitals and insurance carriers to provide lifetime care for children who become disabled after suffering brain or spinal cord injuries during the birthing process. It’s meant to avoid malpractice lawsuits related to birth injuries.
The program, according to court records, has roughly 300 active claimants who rely on the fund for therapies, caregiver services, medical bills, medications, counseling and equipment such as wheelchair accessible vans.
Some of those claimants were present at Wednesday’s hearing. Most were wheelchair-bound and flanked by parents who view Raines’s crimes as theft directly from their pockets. That’s despite explanations during the case that the stolen money wasn’t necessarily money that would have gone to families.
Sturgis Kidder, whose child is a participant in the fund, disagreed with that stance.
“The families in fact have been impacted by this,” said Kidder, addressing Judge Gibney.
He said the VBIF has changed many of its internal policies as a result of the Raines case, including the way it funds or reimburses requests from claimants. He said it now takes longer to receive approval of funds from the program and some families are required to pay more money up front for their claims.
“Now the program is treating families like we stole the money,” Kidder said.
VBIF Executive Director Dawn McCoy told Judge Gibney the theft has left staff and others concerned about the program’s effectiveness.
“This crime has affected the program in significant ways, far beyond the money Mr. Raines stole,” McCoy said.
Raines’ theft marks the second time in 15 years that a VBIF insider stole from the program. Former claims manager Iris F. Allen was sentenced in 2010 to 10 years in prison for embezzling $744,000 from the fund.
Raines was sentenced today in the federal courthouse in Richmond.
Mann, in making one last argument to Gibney for a lighter sentence of 24 months, noted Raines’ lack of a previous criminal record and the need to support his wife and three children. Mann said Raines had shown true remorse and was willing to work hard to pay the money back to VBIF if given the chance.
“I know the court thinks it’ll never get paid back, it’s too big a number, but it doesn’t mean he can’t try,” Mann said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi Panth, who prosecuted the case, said a stiff penalty was needed to deter similar crimes in the future.
“Raines stole dozens of times over the course of 21 months, all so he could live the high life,” Panth said. “The money has a real human cost here. A serious sentence is the only measure of justice the families will receive.”
Raines, who sported a fresh fade haircut and a navy-blue suit, white shirt and navy tie, then took to the podium to address the court.
“I come before you full of gratitude, full of remorse, full of humility and full of hope,” he said, at times taking a pause so as not to choke up.
He apologized to the VBIF, starting to turn back to look at those families in the gallery but not fully facing them.
He tried to explain how and why his crimes began, saying that his alcohol and gambling addictions had a powerful grip on him.
“This didn’t start with large sums of money. It started with something small and began to snowball,” he said.
Raines said he had wanted at times to get out of the cycle of theft.
“I remember nearly everyday sitting in my car saying, ‘Lord, please let me stop doing this.’” He added that other times he sat in his car with a “.38-Special beside me,” alluding to thoughts of suicide.
Raines asked Gibney for mercy to allow him to continue his path to sobriety through Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and to work to repay his restitution.
“Through sobriety I know I can pay this money back,” he said.
Judge Gibney, in issuing a prison term that was longer than even the U.S. Attorney’s Office had asked for, made clear that he intended to use Raines’ case to send a message to others.
“This is certainly a case that calls for deterrence,” Gibney said. “We need to send a message: you cannot steal from agencies of the commonwealth and get away with it. Let the message go out today that you can’t steal from charity. Here in Richmond, in the Eastern District of Virginia, we’re not going to put up with it.”
Raines stood straight and tall as Gibney handed out the 108-month sentence, bowing his head only briefly. Raines’ wife cried while rocking their newborn baby as the judge explained his reasoning for denying the request for a more lenient sentence.
“I just cannot get passed the fact that money was taken from a program to benefit the helpless,” Gibney said.
Raines was immediately taken into the custody of the U.S. Marshals, without being allowed to say goodbye to his family in the courtroom. He was only able to turn and look at his wife as he was led away.
The fund keeps its headquarters at 7501 Boulder View Drive on the Southside. (BizSense file photos)
In a packed courtroom filled both with his supporters and the families of disabled children claiming to be his victims, John Hunter Raines, the former CFO of the Virginia Birth Injury Fund, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison on Wednesday afternoon for stealing millions of dollars from the program.
Raines, 39, admitted to skimming $6.75 million from the Richmond-based quasi-government agency, which manages a $700 million fund meant to compensate those who suffer neurological injuries at birth.
The New Kent County resident was caught using the money to fund an alcohol and gambling addiction, as well as limo rides, private jet trips and payments to a mistress.
Prosecutors said the federal government has put a lien on Raines’ home because it was purchased and its mortgage paid off in part using funds from VBIF. It’s a 3,400-square-foot house in the neighborhood built around Brickshire Golf Club in Providence Forge. Raines and his wife purchased the property in 2023, at the height of his scheme.
Despite Raines’ vows during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing to work as hard as he can to pay the money back through restitution, attorneys told Judge John Gibney that the stolen funds have been spent.
“As best we can tell… the money is all gone,” said Michael Moore, an attorney representing the VBIF, adding that the program is considering filing a civil lawsuit against Raines to gain access to more of his financial records in order to dig for more restitution funds.
“The money was gambled away,” said Raines’ attorney, William Mann of Northern Virginia law firm Simms Showers.
Raines, who attended Virginia Tech, earned a master’s degree from Liberty University and has a CPA certification, was arrested by U.S. Postal Service inspectors last August and pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.
He was initially accused of stealing $4.8 million but later admitted to a total of $6.75 million.
Raines worked as CFO and deputy director of VBIF, formally known as the Virginia Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Program, from 2020 until his termination in 2023.
The program was created by state legislation and paid for by physicians, hospitals and insurance carriers to provide lifetime care for children who become disabled after suffering brain or spinal cord injuries during the birthing process. It’s meant to avoid malpractice lawsuits related to birth injuries.
The program, according to court records, has roughly 300 active claimants who rely on the fund for therapies, caregiver services, medical bills, medications, counseling and equipment such as wheelchair accessible vans.
Some of those claimants were present at Wednesday’s hearing. Most were wheelchair-bound and flanked by parents who view Raines’s crimes as theft directly from their pockets. That’s despite explanations during the case that the stolen money wasn’t necessarily money that would have gone to families.
Sturgis Kidder, whose child is a participant in the fund, disagreed with that stance.
“The families in fact have been impacted by this,” said Kidder, addressing Judge Gibney.
He said the VBIF has changed many of its internal policies as a result of the Raines case, including the way it funds or reimburses requests from claimants. He said it now takes longer to receive approval of funds from the program and some families are required to pay more money up front for their claims.
“Now the program is treating families like we stole the money,” Kidder said.
VBIF Executive Director Dawn McCoy told Judge Gibney the theft has left staff and others concerned about the program’s effectiveness.
“This crime has affected the program in significant ways, far beyond the money Mr. Raines stole,” McCoy said.
Raines’ theft marks the second time in 15 years that a VBIF insider stole from the program. Former claims manager Iris F. Allen was sentenced in 2010 to 10 years in prison for embezzling $744,000 from the fund.
Raines was sentenced today in the federal courthouse in Richmond.
Mann, in making one last argument to Gibney for a lighter sentence of 24 months, noted Raines’ lack of a previous criminal record and the need to support his wife and three children. Mann said Raines had shown true remorse and was willing to work hard to pay the money back to VBIF if given the chance.
“I know the court thinks it’ll never get paid back, it’s too big a number, but it doesn’t mean he can’t try,” Mann said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi Panth, who prosecuted the case, said a stiff penalty was needed to deter similar crimes in the future.
“Raines stole dozens of times over the course of 21 months, all so he could live the high life,” Panth said. “The money has a real human cost here. A serious sentence is the only measure of justice the families will receive.”
Raines, who sported a fresh fade haircut and a navy-blue suit, white shirt and navy tie, then took to the podium to address the court.
“I come before you full of gratitude, full of remorse, full of humility and full of hope,” he said, at times taking a pause so as not to choke up.
He apologized to the VBIF, starting to turn back to look at those families in the gallery but not fully facing them.
He tried to explain how and why his crimes began, saying that his alcohol and gambling addictions had a powerful grip on him.
“This didn’t start with large sums of money. It started with something small and began to snowball,” he said.
Raines said he had wanted at times to get out of the cycle of theft.
“I remember nearly everyday sitting in my car saying, ‘Lord, please let me stop doing this.’” He added that other times he sat in his car with a “.38-Special beside me,” alluding to thoughts of suicide.
Raines asked Gibney for mercy to allow him to continue his path to sobriety through Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and to work to repay his restitution.
“Through sobriety I know I can pay this money back,” he said.
Judge Gibney, in issuing a prison term that was longer than even the U.S. Attorney’s Office had asked for, made clear that he intended to use Raines’ case to send a message to others.
“This is certainly a case that calls for deterrence,” Gibney said. “We need to send a message: you cannot steal from agencies of the commonwealth and get away with it. Let the message go out today that you can’t steal from charity. Here in Richmond, in the Eastern District of Virginia, we’re not going to put up with it.”
Raines stood straight and tall as Gibney handed out the 108-month sentence, bowing his head only briefly. Raines’ wife cried while rocking their newborn baby as the judge explained his reasoning for denying the request for a more lenient sentence.
“I just cannot get passed the fact that money was taken from a program to benefit the helpless,” Gibney said.
Raines was immediately taken into the custody of the U.S. Marshals, without being allowed to say goodbye to his family in the courtroom. He was only able to turn and look at his wife as he was led away.
Still not enough time.
I totally agree w/ you! He should have received double the amount of Iris Allen, 7 million in the course of 21 months, he knew what he was doing!
For sure, you steal under a $1M you get 10 years but take under $7M gets you only 9 years!
Interesting to see a recent Liberty U alum in this position.
you not aware of Jerry Fallwell Jr’s messy activities?
I am, and that’s why I find it interesting, not surprising. I occasionally do hiring and I see an LU degree as a warning sign. An on campus degree is a warning about their character; an online degree is a warning about their capabilities.
come on – that crazy stereotyping. plenty of fine young people attend and graduate from that school.
Good! Was not expecting to read such a ghastly story yesterday. The sentence could’ve been longer, with that being said. Nevertheless, glad that justice was served.
They loved to invoke the lord after getting busted. Glad the hammer got dropped on him. When will it be Michael Hild’s turn? Another crook that should be locked up.
You have to wonder about the wife whose bank account received “tens of thousands of dollars” per the RTD. With that, the luxury goods, private jet, trips etc you would think she had to understand where the money came from or was just blissfully ignorant (or dim). I know the house has a lien but she and their financial affairs need a closer look.
I totally agree, I find it hard to believe she was unaware. How much money came out of her account for the luxuries he was purchasing? Blissfully ignorant to think that hubby graduated collage and is making over 3 million a year from a program that takes care of sick children.
I am so happy to read that there is a lien on his house and that they are considering further investigation. As a spouse, if my husband all of a sudden was depositing large amounts of money in my account and making extravagant purchases, I would be asking A LOT of questions! Sounds like he bought a nice house and purchased the whole family golf carts (he purchased 8 of them). I have no sympathy for him at all.
2 observations. 1. A lien on the house is going to come behind any mortgage or the on the property. So it is worth only the equity in the house. 2. Missing from the story is the story of the firing of everyone in the bookkeeping, accounting, and internal audit sections of this agency. Also missing is the report from the Auditor of Public Accounts explaining the mechanism of the embezzlements and the Auditor’srecommendations for preventing this in the future which ought to be part of that report. Is it out there? Am I missing something?
When John was employed he avoided an audit by 3 years. As far as I know, an audit still hasn’t taken place. The previous director, George Deebo, retired shortly after John was arrested. The two employees stealing money were both under his watch. Since this crime has occurred the program has made changes, but to the detriment of the families. That said, I do believe the changes were put in place so that the current employees don’t have direct access to the funds.
George Deebo on behalf of Va Birth Injury invested $1M of the group’s funds several years ago in Medalist Diversified REIT (NASDAQ:MDRR) with Tim Messier & Bill Elliott as founders. The stock was decimated from the $10/share IPO to $0.65/share in just 4 short years. Sounds like an interesting group of characters. Significant monies were lost coming and going with all these activities that are obviously very suspect. A deeper dive is suggested into Deebo, Messier & Elliott as well.
Okay so the lady stole less than a million and got 10 years and this guy stole up to 7 million and got nine years 🤷♀️
REALLY, another “Christian” from Liberty prayed that God would help him be less of a POS? Who would ever believe it? Not nearly enough time! Give him another chance (with the .38)