Justyn Arch, 40, on Thursday, was sentenced to 36 months in prison after a Medicaid fraud scheme at several Northwest Indiana dentistry offices.
The former Valparaiso man pleaded guilty in February to health care fraud, aggravated identity theft and tax evasion. He now lives in Florida, according to court filings.
In Hammond’s U.S. Northern District Court, U.S. District Court Judge Philip Simon sentenced Arch to one year for health care fraud and tax evasion, and 24 months for aggravated identity theft. Arch’s sentences will run consecutively.
He and his brother, Trystan Arch, will have to pay more than $365,000 in restitution to the State of Indiana’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, according to the plea agreement. Justyn Arch will also pay $155,371 in restitution to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, according to the plea agreement.
Simon said Thursday that Justyn Arch will not pay a fine because the restitution amount is so high. He’s expected to pay $200 per month once he’s released from prison.
“This case has lingered for half a decade,” Simon said. “We need to move on and put it behind us.”
At the time, Justyn and Trystan were office managers at their father’s practice — Arch Complete Family Dentistry’s Crown Point and Chesterton offices, respectively. A Knox location was briefly open.
Their father, Dr. Joseph Arch, died in October 2017. Defense Attorney Arlington Foley said that Justyn Arch had lived with his father following his parents’ divorce as a child, but he had run away as a teenager.
Foley said Thursday that Joseph Arch was a “tough disciplinarian.” Justyn Arch was separated from his brothers during his parents’ divorce.
“It sounds like your dad didn’t meet the obligations to be a father,” Simon told Justyn Arch during sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Wolff wrote in court filings that Justyn billed Indiana Medicaid for 674 dental procedures between January 2015 and October 2017 that never happened.
Wolff wrote that Justyn stole the patients’ identities to file the claims. He transferred the money to a personal account from the business’s bank account. Federal prosecutors asked for a 54-month sentence.
On Thursday, Wolff said Justyn Arch knew what he was doing during the fraud scheme.
“It was intentional, it was deliberate, and it took place over two years,” Wolff said.
He also told the court that Justyn Arch targeted the “most vulnerable” patients in health care, and he used his position and knowledge to exploit his office. The plan was “well-planned and well-orchestrated,” and it caused harm to the health care system.
Foley said Thursday that the Medicaid fraud involved the whole family, and their issues started when he was a child.
“Justyn seems to be the ringleader, and it seems like he benefits the most,” Foley said. “But Trystan is not innocent.”
Foley pushed for a two-year sentence Thursday, saying it was sufficient for the crime. He also told Simon that Justyn Arch expressed remorse for his action and is ready to begin making restitution payments.
During Thursday’s sentencing and in a filing, Foley noted Justyn Arch works as an office coordinator for a dental office in Florida and has had no further legal issues in the five years the case was pending.
Simon told the court Thursday that he’s pleased with Justyn Arch’s work history, and his employer wrote positive letters on his behalf.
Although his recent work history is positive, Simon said Justyn Arch had several factors against him, including having no contact with the mother of three of his children while the fourth lives with a friend in Michigan. Justyn Arch also had several protective orders against him, which Simon said came when Justyn Arch was not at the best time in his life.
Justyn Arch is likely to spend his sentence at a minimum security prison in Florida, Simon said.
Trystan Arch signed a plea deal for health care fraud and filing a false tax return. His sentencing is scheduled for August.
mwilkins@chicagotribune.com; mcolias@post-trib.com
