Minn. Man Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Hospital
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A Minnesota man has acknowledged using a false name and social security number to receive treatment at a South Dakota hospital.
U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson says 41-year-old Christopher David Curtis appeared before District Judge Karen Schreier Wednesday and pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with social security fraud.
Prosecutors say Curtis, of Cloquet, Minn., used a false name and social security number while receiving care at Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center in Sioux Falls in March and April of last year. He failed to pay the hospital for the treatments, which included a two-week in-patient stay. Avera McKennan says it is owed more than $130,000.
Curtis faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced in January. Restitution may also be ordered.
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