Georgia man pleads guilty to faking allergy tests

ATLANTA (AP) — The owner of a laboratory near Atlanta has pleaded guilty to faking the results of patients’ blood tests for food and environmental allergies.

U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Bob Page said 39-year-old Rashaan Jackson Garth pleaded guilty to health care fraud charges on Tuesday.

In a news release, the Attorney’s Office said Garth told a technician to not test blood samples that doctors sent to the Polaris Allergy Labs between September 2012 and February 2014. The lab is located in East Point, a city just south of Atlanta.

Prosecutors say Garth was trying to save money by faking the results that were sent back to patients’ doctors. They say Garth billed the patients’ health care benefit programs despite failing to perform services he charged for.

The news release said no date has been set for Garth’s sentencing.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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