Theresa Pickering, 53, of Norcross, Georgia, has been arraigned on federal charges of healthcare fraud, aggravated identity theft, and distribution of controlled substances. Pickering was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 7, 2022. On or about September 24, 2019, Pickering was hired as a licensed physician’s assistant a family practice in Norcross, Georgia. Pickering, however, was not a licensed physician’s assistant in Georgia and has not been a licensed physician’s assistant in any state since March 2014.
After serving a prison sentence for 2015 state and federal fraud and narcotics convictions related to Pickering’s illegal practice as a physician’s assistant in Mississippi, Pickering relocated to Georgia and obtained employment at the family practice in Norcross. While employed there, Pickering treated patients, diagnoses illnesses, ordered diagnostic tests and lab work, handled sick visits and prescribed drugs to patients, none of which was authorized by law based on her lack of licensure and exclusion from federal healthcare programs. Pickering also issued prescriptions, while posing as a physician’s assistant, including prescriptions for controlled substances, in the name of Doctor 1, a physician contracted by the practice, without Doctor 1’s permission. Pickering caused the practice to submit at least approximately $147,000 in fraudulent claims for reimbursement to Medicare and numerous private insurance companies.
