Former Child Injury Program CFO Stole $6.7M, Gambled Over $100K

A federal judge has sentenced John Hunter Raines, the former Chief Financial Officer for the Virginia Birth Injury Program, to nine years in prison for stealing more than $6.7 million from a state program to help families who have children who suffer brain injuries during birth.

According to investigators, he “lived lavishly,” including spending money at multiple casinos in the area. 

This comes after another executive, a CEO at Lottery.com, was arrested on fraud charges. 

Raines Purchases and Casino Play

Among his purchases were private jets, vehicles, cryptocurrency, golf carts, gold, silver, and yes, casino play. 

He also spent several thousand on an “intimate partner.”

He spent over $100,000 on the Virginia Lottery, Colonial Downs Racetrack, and Rivers Casino in Portsmouth.

Of course, this amount pales compared to what he stole and spent overall, which was over $6.7 million.

However, Raines did tell the court he was dealing with drinking and gambling addiction and was seeking help. 

According to prosecutors, Raines “used his sensitive position of trust to steal millions of dollars designated for physically and intellectually disabled children — all so that Raines could fund an extravagant, private-jet-setting lifestyle for roughly 21 months.”

Family Impacted Reaction to His Arrest

Jack Francis, a father who enrolled his four-year-old son in the program, provided comments about the arrest to WTVR CBS 6 saying:

"It's a heinous crime and I was shocked," he said. 

"His comments, I mean, I hear you, he kind of made the best case that he could in his circumstance, and but I feel like it was nothing excuses this," Francis said.

"If things work to work how they are supposed to, this should have been caught a long time ago," Francis said. "If you steal from it, they're going to throw the book at you or more. Which, in this case, it was more."

Prosecutors Say He Did It For “Selfish Greed”

In the sentencing memorandum, prosecutors included ways that the more than $6.7 million he stole could’ve been used to help families. 

They mentioned that the money could’ve been used for 79 wheelchair-accessible medical vans which are about $85,000 each.

They also said that it could’ve covered more than 270,000 hours of expenses for outside caregivers to assist with childcare. 

Not only did he steal, but he also intentionally delayed audits. 

Per state law, audits should happen every fiscal year. 

Prosecutors say he stole for “his own selfish green.”

They added that Raines “made direct cash payments to his own brokerage accounts as well as to the accounts of his wife and his mistress” and “squandered the Birth-Injury Program’s money at Rivers Casino, Virginia Lottery, and Colonial Downs Racetrack.”