Ex-Med Assistant From South Jersey Sentenced For Pushing Unnecessary Meds: Feds

WILLINGBORO, NJ – A former Camden County-based medical assistant was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison for defrauding insurers of over $1 million by pushing medically unnecessary drugs onto patients, federal authorities said.

Aaron Jones, 28, of Willingboro, New Jersey, who pleaded guilty before Judge Robert B. Kugler on March 10, 2022, to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, was sentenced to two years after submitting the fraudulent claims, Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna announced.

Kugler also sentenced Jones to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $1.04 million in restitution.

Jones was previously employed by a provider in Stratford that was owned by Dr. Michael Goldis. While employed at Goldis’ office, Jones was paid $10,000 by a pharmaceutical sales representative to identify patients at the office who had insurance plans that would cover certain compound prescription medications, Khanna said.

Jones also forged the signature of Goldis on several compound medication prescriptions, Khanna added, including on prescriptions for individuals who were not Goldis’ patients.

Jones also had Goldis to sign prescriptions for the compound medications, “regardless of whether or not the individuals receiving the prescriptions had a medical necessity for them.”

Goldis pleaded guilty in June 2020 to four counts of making false statements relating to health care matters.

The pharmaceutical sales representative, Robert Zappala, pleaded guilty in September 2017 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Both are currently awaiting sentencing.