For Antoine Johnson, the Hippocratic oath was perhaps more of a suggestion. Or maybe he was simply an entrepreneur at heart. King County does, indeed love its painkillers, so why not earn a little extra cash by (allegedly) dispensing prescription narcotics to prescription-less patients in exchange for cash payments? Well, according to a recently released federal complaint against him, that’s exactly what Johnson did–that and bill the state for services he never provided.Johnson owned four clinics in the South Sound area, all of which were shut down in January after federal agents raided them on suspicion that Johnson was committing Medicaid fraud. Afterward, Johnson decided to abscond to Madagascar, perhaps an odd choice given the country’s reported lemur infestation and extradition treaty with the U.S.–he was detained by Madagascar law enforcement after a check of his passport revealed the federal warrant for his arrest. So now the good doctor is back in Western Washington awaiting charges of Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud. His mother, who was also implicated in the scam, remains a fugitive. His partner in the alleged crime, Lawanda Johnson fled to Madagascar along with her son.
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