AUGUSTA, GA: A Martinez man has been sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $1.5 million in restitution for defrauding government healthcare and disability programs.

Jonathan Duane Austin, 32, of Martinez, Ga., was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,473,377.51 in restitution by U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

At the completion of Austin’s sentence, he will be subject to an additional term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents in the case, Austin admitted to defrauding Medicare and Tricare for nearly three years by submitting false claims for prescription reimbursements totaling $1,450,000, and to defrauding the Social Security Administration by providing forged documents to falsely claim disability status.   Read More