Georgia Optician Sentenced In Identity Theft Case

U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that JOHN ANTHONY MARSH, age 56, a resident of Lawrenceville, Georgia was sentenced on January 22, 2020 by U.S. District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman to three years’ probation, with a condition that the first 45 days be served on home confinement, in connection with his guilty plea to identity theft.  In addition, MARSH agreed to pay restitution to the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

According to court documents, in 2016, MARSH opened a business in New Orleans called Magazine Medical Group & Associates, LLC (“Magazine Medical”) that provided ophthalmological services.  MARSH opened Magazine Medical at the same location as another medical clinic that had provided ophthalmological services, Business 1.  Between June 2016 and September 2016, MARSH used Business 1’s name when submitting claims for medical services to Medicare and other health care benefit programs to make it appear is those purported medical services were performed at Business 1.

Additionally, according to court documents, during that same time period, MARSH used the National Provider Identifier of a physician, who previously worked for Business 1, to submit claims to Medicare and other health care benefit programs making it appear as though that physician performed medical services at Magazine Medical.  That physician neither worked for MARSH or Magazine Medical nor treated any patients for ophthalmological services at that clinic.

As reimbursement for the fraudulent claims that MARSH was responsible for submitting through Magazine Medical, Medicare and other health care benefit programs issued checks to Business 1 and the physician.  MARSH received and deposited these checks into his bank account.  In total, between June 2016 and September 2016, MARSH fraudulently caused billings to Medicare and other health care benefit programs totaling approximately $77,198 for medical services that were not provided by that physician, and received approximately $20,669.67 for these claims.  MARSH agreed to repay $20,669.67 in restitution to the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their work investigating the case.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jared Hasten of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.