June 26, 2014 — Georgy Betser has been charged by the Connecticut State Division of Criminal Justice with insurance fraud and defrauding a public community. Medicaid is funded in part with federal tax dollars, so dental Medicaid fraud injures American taxpayers in every state, regardless of where it occurs. The federal False Claims Act encourages inside employees to notify the government of fraudulent abuses by filing a whistleblower lawsuit for the government’s benefit. The qui tam language in the statute entitles tipsters to a sizable portion of the government’s recovery.
Stamford, Connecticut Dentist Allegedly Billed Medicaid For Services Never Provided To Patients In Nursing Homes
Betser runs a mobile dental clinic that offers dental services to elderly patients living in nursing homes around Connecticut. The dentist has been charged with billing for services not performed. On one occasion, Betser claimed to treat 87 patients in just one day.
In late 2012 and early 2013, Betser allegedly billed $25,661 to Medicaid for dental services that he never provided. On a single day in January 2013, the dentist allegedly filed claims for reimbursement with Medicaid for almost $18,000. Betser claimed that he had performed 261 dental procedures on 71 patients in three separate cities that day, though investigators discovered that he treated only 31 patients that day, all of them in Hartford, Connecticut. On another occasion, Betser even filed claims with Medicaid for dental procedures he purportedly performed at the same time he had been hospitalized.
Betser runs Advanced Dental in Stamford, Connecticut and first came under scrutiny by the Department of Social Services after the agency processed and paid a number of the dentist’s uncommonly large claims. In February 2013, the Department imposed a “payment suspension” on claims from Betser, noting that credible allegations of fraud existed against him. Betser reportedly received $25,661 as a result of his false billings.
The Connecticut state attorney general is also seeking to recover the allgedly misspent Medicaid dollars from Betser and a number of his associates in a civil lawsuit. In that case, it is alleged that after the dentist was prohibited from filing claims with Medicaid, Betser used third parties to bill Medicaid, who then remitted the payments from Medicaid back to Betser.
Blowing the Whistle on Dental Medicaid Fraud
Connecticut is not alone in the fight against dental Medicaid fraud. While Waters & Kraus is not handling this particular case, we are handling similar cases. Among the nation’s qui tam lawyers with the greatest experience in this area is Dan Hargrove in our Texas office. If you have similar claims against a different dentist or dental practice, contact us or call our attorneys at 800.784.0268. With additional offices in Maryland and California, Waters & Kraus is known for its results in qui tam cases.
Contact us by email or phone our False Claims Act attorneys at 855.784.0268 to learn more about our whistleblower lawsuit practice.
