Derby Resident Accused Of Defrauding Medicaid Sentenced: Feds

DERBY, CT — A Derby resident accused of making false statements to receive Medicaid benefits has been sentenced to prison, according to court officials.

Marvel Johnson, a 50-year-old citizen of Jamaica residing in Derby, was sentenced Thursday to 12 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery announced in a news release.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Johnson used false social security numbers to enroll in the Connecticut Medicaid health care benefits program, "Husky," between approximately 2008 and 2020.

Johnson also called Access Health CT, the agency responsible for administering Medicaid and Husky enrollment for Connecticut, in November 2015 and provided false social security numbers in an attempt to receive retroactive insurance coverage for his recently-born son, Avery said.

While Johnson did not receive the retroactive coverage for his son, he and his family continued to remain enrolled in Husky, Avery said.

Johnson also mailed a false New Jersey birth certificate bearing his name to Access Health CT after receiving a verification request for a citizenship document in 2018, Avery said.

Johnson was arrested in November 2020 and pleaded guilty to making false statements in health care matters in April 2022. He was ordered to pay restitution of $150,380.83, according to Avery.

Johnson was released on a $50,000 bond and ordered to report to prison in December.