March 13, 2015 — Most whistleblowers in False Claims Act lawsuits involving dental Medicaid fraud are dental clinic insiders. But for many, it’s a difficult thing to notify the government about an employer mixed up in billing fraud schemes against the government. When tipsters file a lawsuit against those engaged in unethical dental practices, the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act provide for them to be rewarded for their courage with a share of the government’s recovery.
New York Oral Surgeon Engaged in Upcoding Scam against Department of Corrections
New York oral surgeon Dr. Timothy J. O’Keefe has pleaded guilty to Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the Second Degree. An oral surgeon under contract with New York’s Department Of Corrections And Community Supervision, O’Keefe was retained to provide specialty dental care for correctional facility inmates in upstate New York. New York investigators reportedly found that O’Keefe billed the Department for surgical procedures he did not in fact perform.
Between August 2009 and April 2011, O’Keefe filed false invoices with the Department that included improper ‘upcoding’ charges. When O’Keefe performed surgical extractions on inmates, he billed the State for bony impactions, which are more complicated and are reimbursed at a higher rate.
O’Keefe was ordered to pay $14,640 in restitution and to serve six months incarceration.
Contact Us to File a False Claims Act Lawsuit Targeting Dental Medicaid Fraud
While Waters & Kraus is not handling this particular dental Medicaid fraud case, we are representing whistleblowers in similar lawsuits. If you have comparable claims against a different dental provider, contact us by email or call our qui tam attorneys at 800.226.9880. to learn more about our practice and how we can work together to notify the government about fraudulent abuses of government-funded programs. Charles Siegel and Dan Hargrove, qui tam lawyers in Waters & Kraus’ Texas office, protect tipsters throughout the whistleblower lawsuit process.
