Georgia Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker announced today that Dr. Lester Bullard, a DeKalb County physician, received a fifteen-year sentence for felony convictions for Medicaid fraud and false writing. Dr. Bullard must serve ten years of his sentence in prison, followed by five years on probation during which he must pay $377,000 in restitution to the Department of Medical Assistance. Dr. Bullard's wife, Carol Bullard, received a sentence of fifteen years to serve five in prison, together with joint and several liability for $377,000 in restitution. Their office manager, Patricia White Anderson, was sentenced to five years on probation for the offense of false writing. DeKalb Superior Court Judge Linda Warren Hunter sentenced the defendants.

"These are tough penalties, and I hope they send a clear signal that Medicaid fraud in Georgia will not be tolerated," said Attorney General Baker.

A DeKalb County jury returned verdicts of guilty against the three DeKalb County residents on April 13, 1998. Lester Bullard, M.D., and his wife Carol Kathleen Bullard, were found guilty of two felony counts of Medicaid fraud and one felony count of creating false writings in connection with their participation in a fraudulent South DeKalb County medical clinic called Omnicare, Inc. Their office manager, Patricia White Anderson, was found guilty of false writing.

Evidence introduced in the case showed that the Defendants, working in conjunction with programs such as summer camps and after-school programs, submitted numerous claims for medical services never rendered. Defendants obtained $340,000 in Medicaid payments for psychotherapy which was never provided. An additional $37,000 was billed for other medical services which the recipients never received.