She Faked Her Own Death By Pretending To Fall Off A Cliff In A State Park To Avoid A Prison Sentence
A husband and wife from West Virginia received jail time for a plot that involved the wife faking her own death to avoid going to prison.
In 2020, Julie M. Wheeler was convicted of federal healthcare fraud after receiving almost $300,000 from the Veteran’s Administration Spina Bifida Fund.
On February 11, 2020, she pled guilty to submitting fraudulent applications to the VA Spina Bifida Health Care Benefits Program, where she overbilled for providing spina bifida care for a family member, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of West Virginia.
Julie was the owner of a home care services company and was hired to provide services at the rate of $736 per day. She was supposed to help the family member bathe, groom, and more for eight hours daily.
However, she did not actually provide this amount of care. She defrauded the VA of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the patient has since passed away. Julie was sentenced to three years and six months of federal prison for her crime.
A few days before her sentencing, her husband Rodney Wheeler called the police and informed them that his wife had fallen off a scenic overlook at Grandview State Park. The overlook is a steep cliff with ledges leading down to the New River.
A massive manhunt was launched, but authorities were unable to find her. Hundreds of volunteers, law enforcement officers, and professional search and rescue operators combed the area for her.
Rodney gave false information to the investigators during the search and even made a social media post expressing his hopes that Julie would be found. In reality, the fall was just a ruse, and the couple had made plans to go into permanent hiding together.
Several days later, the police obtained a search warrant and found Julie hiding in a closet in her own home. Rodney and Julie Wheeler were both taken into custody. They admitted to conspiring to fake Julie’s death to avoid her sentencing in the healthcare fraud case.
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The court enhanced her sentence for failing to take responsibility for her criminal conduct. In 2021, Julie was ordered to serve her original 42-month sentence and an additional sentence of 12 months and one day for conspiring to obstruct justice. She also had to pay $289,055.07 in restitution.
Rodney was sentenced to eight months in jail and ordered to pay a $250,000 fine. He also received three years of supervised release.
“Absolutely despicable. Wheeler’s egregious fraud scheme denied much-needed spina bifida care for her own sister while she fleeced the Veteran’s Administration of almost $300,000,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart.
“Then, she faked her own disappearance to evade sentencing, risking the lives and resources of first responders and emergency personnel. Outrageous. Terribly tragic case all around.”
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