Portland Resident Arrested for Making False Statements Relating to a Health Care Benefits Program
Indictment Alleges Defendant Practiced Optometry Without a License

Portland, Ore. - Karin J. Immergut, the United States Attorney for the District of Oregon, announced that Johnathan Rogers, 26, of Portland was arrested yesterday at Portland International Airport as he arrived on a flight from Namibia in Africa. A federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment yesterday which charges Rogers with one count of making a false statement relating to a health care matter. The offense carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

The charges stem from an investigation by the FBI, the Albany Police Department, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Department, and other local law enforcement authorities into allegations that Rogers was posing as a licensed optometrist and practicing optometry without a license. The indictment specifically alleges that on July 23, 2007, while posing as a licensed optometrist Rogers caused the submission of a fraudulent claim, and payment of the claim, by Regence Blue cross Blue Shield in connection with an eye exam. The website of the Oregon Board of Optometry contains a notice stating that Rogers is not an optometrist licensed by the Oregon Board of Optometry.

A criminal indictment is only an allegation and not evidence of guilt. Rogers, like all defendants, is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. He is scheduled to be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Portland today at 1:30. Questions may be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Caldwell, who is handling the prosecution, at (503) 727-1000.

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