TRENTON
- Division of Criminal Justice Director
Vaughn L. McKoy announced that a Russian
immigrant businessman, his father, and
a retired Bergen County dentist have been
ordered to repay more than $29,000 to
two New Jersey insurance companies after
pleading guilty to insurance fraud, including
practicing dentistry without a license
and seeking reimbursement for dental treatments
provided by non-licensed dental practitioners.
According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
Greta Gooden Brown, Lev Natovich, 37,
Pine Terrace, Franklin Lakes, Bergen County,
was ordered by Bergen County Superior
Court Judge Donald R. Venezia to pay $12,000
in restitution to the Local 338 Union
Fund and to the Delta Dental Insurance
Company after pleading guilty to submitting
thousands of dollars in fraudulent medical
reimbursement claims which sought payment
for dental services that were not performed
by a licenced dentist. Natovich was also
sentenced to six months in a drug rehabilitation
center and is required to serve five years
probation.
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown noted
that Natovich, charged via a State Grand
Jury indictment returned on Jan. 10, 2005,
pleaded guilty to Health Care Claims Fraud
before Judge Venezia . The indictment
charged that from September, 1999 through
March, 2002, Natovich, along with two
co-defendants, performed various dental
procedures on at least 33 patients without
any formal training in dentistry and without
obtaining state, federal, or international
license. The indictment charged that Natovich,
identified as the office manager for United
Dental Center, formerly located at 35
Wallington Ave., Wallington, Bergen County,
performed dental treatments that included
extractions, root canal, fillings, and
the fitting of partials and bridges. A
subsequent State Grand Jury indictment
charged that Lev Natovich, after being
indicted in January, instructed a purported
member of Russian organized crime to contact
a potential witness with instructions
on what to say about the case when questioned
by State Investigators.
Prosecutor Brown said that co-defendant
and retired dentist, Joseph P. Matriss,
82, Passaic Street, Hasbrouck Heights,
was ordered by Judge Venezia on Sept.
6 to pay $9,781 in restitution to Local
338 and $2,219 in restitution to Delta
Dental. Matriss pleaded guilty to a charge
of falsifying or tampering with records,
admitting that he falsified dental records
relating to the care of dental patients
treated at United Dental Center. It was
charged that Matriss allowed his name
and dental identification number to be
used by Natovich and United Dental Center
to fraudulently bill insurance companies.
Boris Natovich, 58, also of Pine Terrace,
Franklin Lakes, was admitted into the
Pre-trial Intervention Program (PTI) and
was ordered to pay $5,213 in restitution.
Boris Natovich, Lev Natovich’s father,
was identified as the registered owner
of United Dental Center.
State Investigator Frederic Moore, Civil
Investigator Marysol Mateo and Deputy
Attorney General Jacqueline D. Smith coordinated
the investigation. The case was referred
to the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
by the Division of Consumer Affairs Enforcement
Bureau.
_ag-ph_update.gif)
