Jefferson City, Mo. – Attorney General Chris Koster announced this week that a judge has sentenced Licensed Clinical Social Worker, 65-year-old Robert Linebarger, of St. Joseph, to prison for five years.

The execution of that sentence was suspended and Linebarger was ordered immediately to serve 60 days’ shock detention in the Buchanan County Jail. Linebarger’s sentencing comes after his April 7, 2016, guilty plea to the class C felony of Medicaid Fraud.

According to a news release from Koster’s office, Linebarger was brought to the attention of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Division by the Missouri Department of Social Services, Medicaid Audit and Compliance Unit. The Attorney General’s investigation then determined Linebarger billed for therapy services he was not providing to his Medicaid clients and he abandoned some of his Medicaid clients by not showing up for scheduled counseling sessions.  However, he still billed Missouri Medicaid for those sessions.  Finally, Linebarger created false progress notes in an attempt to conceal from investigators that he had not provided counseling sessions for which he had billed Missouri Medicaid.

In addition to his sentence, Linebarger must pay restitution to Missouri Medicaid in the sum of $16,099, surrender his Clinical Social Worker license, and perform 480 hours of community service. Upon his release, Linebarger will be on five years of supervised probation.

“When you steal from Medicaid you are stealing from all Missourians,” Koster said.  “We will continue to investigate and prosecute all suspicions of Medicaid fraud by providers.”

The case was a jointly prosecuted by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and the Buchanan County Prosecuting Attorney.

Koster said citizens should report suspected Medicaid fraud to his Medicaid Fraud Hotline toll free at 800-286-3932, e-mail a complaint to [email protected] or complete a complaint form at the Attorney General’s website.