Date: 01-09-2015

Case Style: Untied States of America v. Rahsaan Jackson Garth

Case Number: 1:14-cr-00262-TCB

Judge: Timothy C. Batten, Sr.

Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

Plaintiff's Attorney: Mary L. Webb

Defendant's Attorney: Joseph Scott Key and Robert Gary Rubin

Description: ATLANTA - Rahsaan Jackson Garth has been sentenced to federal prison for committing health-care fraud by faking the results of allergy tests that patients’ doctors had ordered.

“Garth endangered the health and safety of citizens, including children, by faking their allergy test results and misleading their doctors,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “People trust doctors to make decisions that could permanently affect a patient’s health based on those results. Garth put his own financial wealth ahead of people’s health.”

“The defendant placed the pursuit of his own prosperity ahead of the well-being of patients, many of whom were children and the elderly” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General in Atlanta. “Today’s sentence should serve as an example of the OIG’s commitment to pursue those who seek to exploit the trust and confidence of patients and doctors for their own gain.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: The defendant, Rahsaan Jackson Garth, a/k/a/ R. Jackson Garth, opened an allergy laboratory in 2011, named Polaris Allergy Labs, Inc., located in East Point, Ga. Doctors sent their patients’ blood samples to Polaris Allergy Labs, Inc. to be tested for food and environmental allergies. Beginning in approximately September 2012, and continuing through February 2014, Garth directed his allergy laboratory technician not to test some of the blood samples for allergens in order to save money by not using the allergen reagents necessary for testing. Instead of testing the blood, Garth created fake allergy test result reports for the patients, and then had the fake test result reports sent back to the patients’ doctors.

Sometimes Garth created results showing no allergic reaction, and other times he created results showing an allergic reaction, in order to avoid raising the suspicions of the doctors to whom he sent fake test result reports. The patients’ doctors were unaware that Garth was sending them fake allergy test results for their patients, putting each of those patients at risk.

After creating a fake allergy test report for a patient, Garth caused a bill to be submitted to the patient’s health care benefit program, even though no service had in fact been provided.

During the investigation, law enforcement officials notified the doctors and patients who were potentially affected by Garth’s fraudulent testing activities.

Garth, 40, of Hampton, Ga., was sentenced by United States District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr., to three years and ten months in federal prison, three years of supervised release, ordered to pay $246,536.50 in restitution, and perform 100 hours of community service. On July 22, 2014, Garth pleaded guilty to one count of healthcare fraud.

This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.

Outcome: See Above

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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