Lawrenceville Lab Owner Sentenced to Prison for $330K Genetic Testing Medicaid Fraud
DECATUR, GA — A 47-year-old Lawrenceville lab owner has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to orchestrating a $330,000 Medicaid fraud scheme involving falsified records for genetic testing services that patients never received.
Averil Johnson entered a guilty plea to two counts of Medicaid Fraud in DeKalb County Superior Court. Judge Gregory Adams accepted the plea on June 9, 2026, sentencing Johnson to 10 years, with the first year to be served in prison and the remaining nine years on probation. Johnson was also ordered to pay $330,000 in full restitution to the Georgia Medicaid program.
Elaborate Network and Falsified Lab Orders
According to the investigation, Johnson owned and operated National Healthcare Center, LLC, a medical office that employed a doctor, two nurses, and support staff to provide dermatology-related care. Johnson also hired a second physician to serve as the director of his separate laboratory facility located in Tucker, Georgia, though this doctor never actually evaluated patients.
State investigators discovered that Johnson used his position to fabricate medical records and generate fraudulent orders for genetic testing at his Tucker laboratory. He then utilized the professional identities and provider numbers of the two physicians to submit high-dollar claims to Georgia Medicaid without the doctors’ knowledge or authorization.
The fraudulent billing repeatedly targeted a specific genetic testing code that paid out at $1,988.69 per claim. When investigators later interviewed the patients listed on the invoices, they denied having any knowledge of or receiving the genetic tests.
Employee Hotline Call Exposes Operation
The scheme unraveled after a nurse employed at the practice noticed the irregular activity and placed a whistleblower call to the Georgia Department of Community Health hotline. The regulatory agency subsequently referred the case to the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Patient Protection Division, which initiated and completed the criminal investigation.
“Genetic testing fraud is a growing problem across the country, and we’re going after those responsible,” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement. “These illegal schemes deplete real resources for patients in need, and it won’t be tolerated here in Georgia.”
The prosecution was led by Senior Assistant Attorneys General Henry Hibbert and Sara Vann. Johnson will be transferred to the Georgia Department of Corrections to begin serving his prison term.
