Countywide

A 46-year-old San Diego man was charged Friday with using stolen Medi-Cal cards to illegally obtain prescription drugs and with bilking the Medi-Cal program of more than $50,000 over the last three years.

William Johnson is being held in the County Jail downtown and his bail is set at $14,000. William Ihle, a spokesman for the state Department of Health Services, said Johnson was arrested earlier in the week by the office of the state Department of Audits and Investigations after a four-month investigation.

Ihle said investigators believe that Medi-Cal cards were stolen and used by Johnson or his associates to obtain prescription drugs, which in turn were sold on the streets of San Diego. Johnson has been charged with 41 counts of obtaining medications under false pretexts, 41 counts of burglary, one count of forged prescription and one count of grand theft. Ihle said the investigation is ongoing and that there might be more arrests.