From using false social security numbers to submitting a false New Jersey birth certificate bearing his name, a Jamaican residing in the US has found himself in hot water with the law in that country.
The Jamaican, 50-year-old Marvel Johnson, was on Wednesday sentenced by a judge in New Haven, Connecticut, to 12 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for making false statements to receive Medicaid benefits.
The judge ordered Johnson to pay restitution of US$150,380.83.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between 2008 and 2020, Johnson used false social security numbers to enrol and maintain his enrolment in the Connecticut Medicaid health care benefits programme known as “Husky”.
In November 2015, he reportedly called Access Health CT — the agency responsible for administering Medicaid/Husky enrolment for Connecticut — and provided false social security numbers to receive retroactive insurance coverage for his recently born son.
A release from the US Department of Justice said Johnson did not receive the retroactive coverage for his son, but he and his family continued to remain enrolled in Husky.
In 2018, following a verification request by Access Health CT for a citizenship document, Johnson mailed a false New Jersey birth certificate bearing his name.
