Jamaican man who used fraudulent documents to acquire US benefits charged

Marvel Johnson, a 50-year-old Jamaican, was sentenced to 12 months in prison on Wednesday, followed by three years of supervised release, by a judge in New Haven, Connecticut, for making false claims to obtain Medicaid benefits. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of US$150,380.83. Johnson submitted a bogus New Jersey birth certificate as well as used false social security numbers. According to court documents and statements, Johnson used fraudulent social security numbers between 2008 and 2020 to enroll in and maintain his enrollment in the Connecticut Medicaid health care benefits program known as “Husky”. It was reported that in November 2015, Johnson called Access Health CT which is the agency responsible for administering Medicaid/Husky enrollment for Connecticut and provided false social security numbers to obtain retroactive insurance coverage for his newborn son. According to a US Department of Justice release, Johnson did not receive retroactive coverage for his son, but he and his family remained enrolled in Husky. Johnson mailed a false New Jersey birth certificate bearing his name in 2018, in response to an Access Health CT verification request for a citizenship document. The release stated: “Johnson was, in fact, born in Jamaica.” On November 19, 2020, he was apprehended. Johnson pleaded guilty to making false statements in health care matters on April 28, 2022. According to the release, Marvel Johnson, who was released on $50,000 bond, is required to report to prison on December 1.