BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - A former Montana and Wyoming neurosurgeon has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for trying to hide assets when he filed for bankruptcy after being sued for malpractice.
John Henry Schneider was sentenced Wednesday after earlier pleading guilty to concealing a bank account with nearly $310,000, The Billings Gazette reports . Four other bankruptcy fraud charges were dismissed, including one alleging he illegally transferred nearly $540,000 to another person.
U.S. District Judge Susan Watters ordered Schneider to pay nearly $309,000 in restitution.
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Schneider filed for bankruptcy in December 2014 while facing nearly $12 million in claims from former business partners and for malpractice. He settled the claims for $2.3 million but was allowed to keep a $2 million residence in California, court records said.
One of the claims, for $2 million, was filed by the family of Russell Monaco of Billings. Monaco died in 2011 from an overdose of painkillers after Schneider performed back surgery on him in Cody, Wyoming.
Wyoming revoked Schneider’s medical license in 2014 but he retained his Montana license until March 2018, when it expired.
Schneider told Watters his financial crimes came during the midst of a difficult time for him and his family and he had since begin working at a new career in conflict resolution.
In arguing for a suspended sentence, Schneider offered an initial payment of $35,000 toward his restitution.
“You could have the means by which to come in here and pay your restitution in full and really demonstrate, in good faith, how remorseful you are,” Watters said, referring to a California house Schneider purchased under a corporate name.
Schneider was hired by the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Iowa City, Iowa in April 2017, despite disclosing his history of malpractice claims and the loss of his Wyoming license.
After a USA Today investigation, VA officials determined Schneider’s hiring violated a federal law that bars the agency from hiring physicians whose licenses have been revoked by a state board. Schneider resigned from the VA in November 2017.
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Information from: The Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com
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