United States v. Harris, No. 19-10006 (9th Cir. 2020)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction for two counts of aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. 1028A. Defendant was the owner and operator of a business that provided therapeutic services, and her convictions stemmed from her fraudulently billing government health care program for speech therapy services provided to children of military families. In this case, defendant's use of the speech pathologist's name and National Provider Identifier number on the claim forms was "during and in relation" to the commission of wire fraud and thus constituted "use" of another's identification under section 1028A. Defendant's other challenges are addressed in a concurrently filed memorandum disposition.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel affirmed convictions on two counts of aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A in a case in which the defendant, the owner and operator of a business that provided therapeutic services, fraudulently billed a government health care program for speech therapy services provided to children of military families. The defendant’s scheme included submitting claims that falsely identified a speech pathologist as the rendering provider for dates on which the speech pathologist provided no services. The panel held that the defendant’s use of the speech pathologist’s name and National Provider Identifier number on the claim forms was “during and in relation” to the commission of wire fraud, and therefore constituted “use” of another’s identification under § 1028A. The panel addressed the defendant’s other challenges in a concurrently filed memorandum disposition. UNITED STATES V. HARRIS 3
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