Alaska Doctor Charged With Wire Fraud

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that DR. ANDREW J. VAN ATTA, age 37, from Wasilla, Alaska, was charged today with wire fraud.

The government filed a one-count indictment that charged VAN ATTA with wire fraud, from January of 2017 through May of 2018. According to the indictment, starting in January of 2017, when VAN ATTA was a medical student, and continuing after he graduated, VAN ATTA used multiple email accounts and PayPal accounts to impersonate numerous other physicians while filling out surveys with a survey company that paid VAN ATTA for surveys that the victim company believed were completed by various other physicians. The company paid VAN ATTA over $114,000 for the surveys completed under the fake names.

U.S. Attorney Strasser reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted of these charges, VAN ATTA faces up to twenty years in prison, followed by up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain to VAN ATTA or the gross loss to any victims.

U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas D. Moses is in charge of the prosecution.