MARIETTA, Ga. — A former medical doctor has been convicted for a second time for practicing medicine without a license -- along with two others, according to Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes.
On Friday, Oct. 25, a Cobb County jury found Nathaniel Johnson III guilty of multiple crimes related to his 'Hello Beautiful' cosmetic surgery clinic in Vinings.
Johnson and Peter Ulbrich, whose Georgia medical license is under suspension were each convicted on dozens of felony counts, including racketeering, theft by deception, and practicing medicine without a license.
Shannon Williams, a medical assistant at the clinic, was found guilty of 11 felony counts of theft and practicing medicine without a license.
In 2014, according to the district attorney, Johnson was convicted in Fulton County of Medicaid fraud, conspiracy to defraud the state and practicing medicine without a license. As part of his sentence at that time, he was ordered to surrender his medical license and was prohibited from practicing medicine.
According to Holmes, when Johnson was released from jail in early 2015, he went right back to work at the Hello Beautiful clinic. Ulbrich, who was a doctor at that time, was brought on to lend legitimacy to the clinic. Johnson said Ulbrich was the doctor and that he -- Johnson -- was just an administrator.
However, evidence indicated that Johnson continued to perform procedures including liposuction, fat transfers and Brazilian butt lifts and received thousands of dollars for these services.
In Summer 2016, when a patient tried to report Johnson to the Georgia Composite Medical Board, but that body is only able to sanction doctors who are licensed. The medical board referred the complaint to Cobb County Police, which initiated a criminal investigation.
More patients began to come forward saying that Johnson had performed their procedures also. They indicated that they had no idea that he was not a licensed doctor.
At trial, Holmes said, more than 30 patients testified that Johnson provided medical care to them in 2015 or 2016, while they were unaware that Johnson had lost his medical license.
Several patients testified that they first met Ulbrich in the surgery room, after dealing exclusively with Johnson during consultations where they disrobed and allowed Johnson to evaluate their bodies Other patients testified that Johnson and Ulbrich performed the surgeries together, although many didn’t know Ulbrich’s name
On the stand, the patients each indicated that they would not have paid him had they known he was not licensed to practice medicine.
Patients also testified that Williams, who had worked for Johnson for a number of years and was aware that he was not a doctor, would introduce and refer to Johnson as "Doctor" during client-patient interactions, furthering the deception that Johnson was a medical doctor.
11Alive previously reported that during the time of the alleged incidents, Ulbrich, a gynecologist, was under probation after allegedly having sexual relationships with two female patients.
All three defendants remain in custody at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center. Sentencing for all three has been scheduled for Dec. 4.
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