A former medical assistant was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for defrauding New Jersey state and local health benefits programs and other insurers of more than $1 million by submitting fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary prescriptions, Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna announced.
Federal officials said Aaron Jones, 28, of Willingboro, pleaded guilty before Judge Robert B. Kugler on March 10 to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Judge Kugler imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Jones was previously employed by a medical practice in Stratford that Dr. Michael Goldis owned. Jones was paid by a pharmaceutical sales representative, Richard Zappala, to identify medical practice patients with insurance plans that would cover the compound prescription medications.
Jones forged the signature of Goldis on numerous compound medication prescriptions, including on prescriptions for individuals who were not Goldis’ patients.
Jones also arranged for Goldis to sign prescriptions for the compound medications, regardless of whether or not the individuals receiving the drugs had a medical necessity for them. Jones received approximately $10,000 in cash for his role in the scheme.
Goldis pleaded guilty in June 2020 to four counts of making false statements relating to healthcare matters; Zappala pleaded guilty in September 2017 to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.
Both await sentencing.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Kugler sentenced Jones to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $1.04 million in restitution.