A Fulton County grand jury has indicted a Fairburn man for stealing more than $65,000 by submitting phony Medicaid claims, according to the Georgia Attorney General’s Office.
The indictment, handed up Tuesday, charges Dimitrius Franks with one count of Medicaid fraud and three counts each of computer theft and theft by taking.
Franks had been contracted by a physician’s office as office manager and Medicaid claims biller, prosecutors said in a news release.
Working mostly from his home in south Fulton County, and without the doctor’s knowledge, Franks allegedly changed the bank account that received electronic payments from the care management organization that paid out the physician's Medicaid claims.
Beginning in March 2008, payments started going to Frank’s personal bank account instead of the doctor’s, prosecutors said. From then until October 2008, the defendant allegedly submitted false claims totaling $65,583.52.
The indictment also accuses Franks of filing false W2 forms with the state asserting that he had paid taxes for the 2006, 2007 and 2008 tax years when he had not. Because of the false tax returns, Franks was able to receive a refund from the Georgia Department of Revenue, prosecutors said.
If convicted, Franks could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on the Medicaid fraud and theft by taking charges and 15 years on the computer theft charge, prosecutors said. He also could face fines ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.
The case was investigated by Investigator Johnny Brooks, Investigative Auditor Judith Ann Cooper and Analyst Zwella Boyd, all of the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant Attorney General Jorge Correa is prosecuting the case.
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