Former UPenn cancer doctor indicted by DOJ

    The Department of Justice has charged a former University of Pennsylvania doctor with theft and fraud for allegedly misusing federal cancer research funds.

    Prosecutors say in a Friday statement that 49-year-old Steven W. Johnson of Elkins Park has been charged with mail fraud and theft from a program receiving federal funds.

    Johnson allegedly ordered DNA testing kits through the School of Medicine and used its equipment to process them, then sold the completed “primers” to other customers through his own for-profit company.

    The grand jury indictment alleges that Johnson misused property valued at more than $5,000 from 2005 to 2010.

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    There was no answer at a phone number listed in Johnson’s name, and the School of Medicine did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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