TRENTON
Attorney General Anne Milgram and Division
of Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni
announced that a dentist from Secaucus pleaded
guilty today to defrauding the Medicaid program
out of more than $70,000.
According
to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza
Dagli, Anna Padva-German, 47, of Secaucus,
a licensed dentist employed by New Jersey
Mobile Dentist P.A. of Colts Neck, pleaded
guilty to an accusation that charged her with
third degree Medicaid fraud before Superior
Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci Jr. in Monmouth
County. The charge stems from an ongoing investigation
by the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s
Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
As
a result of the investigation, four dentists
employed by New Jersey Mobile Dentist have
pleaded guilty thus far, including Padva-German.
The Medicaid program allegedly paid New Jersey
Mobile Dentist more than $1.3 million to which
it was not entitled as a result of fraudulent
billing for those four dentists.
In
pleading guilty, Padva-German admitted that
between Jan. 1, 2003 and March 6, 2009, she
willfully received medical assistance payments
as a Medicaid provider in an amount greater
than that to which she was entitled. The investigation
revealed that as a result of the alleged fraudulent
billing, Medicaid paid New Jersey Mobile Dentist,
which had used Padva-German’s Medicaid
provider number, over $200,000 to which it
was not entitled. New Jersey Mobile Dentist
contracts with individual dentists to provide
"mobile" dental services in various
nursing homes and assisted living facilities
throughout New Jersey.
Judge
Mellaci scheduled sentencing for Padva-German
for June 25, 2010. As part of her plea, she
must pay restitution and a civil penalty totaling
$138,731 to the State of New Jersey through
the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General,
which commenced operations in 2009 to investigate
fraud, waste and abuse in the Medicaid program.
Sgt.
Kathleen Casey, Auditor Kim Geis and Deputy
Attorney General Debra A. Conrad are assigned
to the investigation. Deputy Attorney General
Conrad represented the Office of Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor at the guilty plea hearing.
“These
dentists exploited elderly and disabled patients,”
said Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Dagli.
“Medical professionals are given a tremendous
amount of trust, and we will continue to aggressively
prosecute those who take advantage of that
trust by fraudulently billing Medicaid.”
In
September, another dentist employed by New
Jersey Mobile Dentist, Marc Wertheim, 45,
of Moonachie, pleaded guilty to third-degree
Medicaid Fraud. The Medicaid program paid
New Jersey Mobile Dentist nearly $750,000
to which it was not entitled as a result of
alleged fraudulent billing related to Wertheim.
In
July, two other dentists employed by New Jersey
Mobile Dentist pleaded guilty. Christopher
Lillo, 41, of Toms River, pleaded guilty to
third-degree Medicaid fraud, and Joshua Prensky,
33, of Fair Lawn, pleaded guilty to third-degree
conspiracy to commit Medicaid fraud. The Medicaid
program allegedly paid New Jersey Mobile Dentist
more than $300,000 as a result of fraudulent
billing related to Lillo, and $100,000 as
a result of fraudulent billing for Prensky.
Acting Prosecutor Dagli noted that some important
cases have started with anonymous tips. People
who are concerned about insurance cheating
and have information about a fraud can report
it anonymously by calling the toll-free hotline
1-877-55-FRAUD or visiting the Web
site www.njinsurancefraud.org.
State regulations permit an award to be paid
to an eligible person who provides information
that leads to an arrest, prosecution and conviction
for insurance fraud.
The
Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor was established
by the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction
Act of 1998. The office is the centralized
state agency that investigates and prosecutes
both civil and criminal insurance fraud, as
well as Medicaid fraud.
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