November 19, 2014 — Dental Medicaid fraud rarely goes unnoticed by dental clinic insiders. But many try to turn a blind eye so they can hold onto their jobs — until they are asked to participate. For some, that’s when they decide to seek out legal help to stop Medicaid billing fraud schemes against the state and federal governments. When tipsters file a whistleblower lawsuit against unethical dental practices under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, they may be rewarded with a share of any recovery for their willingness to collaborate with the government.
Ocean Dental Ends Medicaid Fraud Investigation By Agreeing To Pay Over $5 Million
Ocean Dental PC, a Stillwater, Oklahoma chain of Medicaid dental clinics, has consented to a $5 million settlement to resolve False Claims Act allegations involving the submission of false claims to Medicaid. In 2012, one of Ocean Dental’s former dentists pleaded guilty to health care fraud and was sentenced to prison. The operation, which runs 28 dental clinics in seven states, did not admit to liability.
Ocean Dental reportedly was under investigation for filing false claims with Oklahoma’s Medicaid program for dental procedures that were billed at a rate higher than that allowed by law or that in reality had never been performed. Ocean Dental’s former employee, Robin Lockwood, engaged in the wrongdoing from January 2005 to September 2010. Lockwood has been ordered to pay over $375,000 in restitution.
Insiders with a Conscience Collaborate to End Fraudulent Billing Schemes
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, email us or call our qui tam attorneys at 855.784.0268 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.
