Georgia Optician Pleads Guilty To Identity Theft

NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that JOHN ANTHONY MARSH, age 55, of Atlanta, Georgia pled guilty yesterday to a one-count bill of information charging him with identity theft in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028(a)(7).

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 that 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 Physician 1, who previously worked for Business 1, to submit claims to Medicare and other health care benefit programs making it appear as though Physician 1 performed medical services at Magazine Medical.  Physician 1 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 Physician 1.  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 Physician 1, and received approximately $20,669.67 for these fraudulent claims.

MARSH faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services 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.