Former Monroe (Brodheadsville) counselor charged in Medicaid scheme, AG says

Michael Johnston

HARRISBURG — A mental health counselor claimed more than $100,000 in fees from Medicaid for services he never provided, according to the Pennsylvania attorney general's office.

Michael Clarence Johnston, 55, former owner and operator of Vision Counseling Services in Brodheadsville, was charged Wednesday with submitting hundreds of fraudulent claims over a three-year period beginning in 2012. Investigators found that Johnston would charge for services at times he was not even in the United States, according to the attorney general's office, including extended periods of travel to Jamaica and elsewhere.

Johnston was arrested recently in Lauderhill, Fla., where he now lives, according to authorities.