Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery announced in a joint statement on August 28 that three affiliated dental practices had agreed to pay $1.7 million as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that they violated state and federal False Claims Act laws by paying for a “patient recruitment service.”
Stanislav Gintautas, DDS and Tatiana Agababaeva, DDS own Family Dentistry of Stamford, Family Dentistry of Bridgeport and Family Dentistry of Hartford. The facilities are enrolled as part of the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program, which includes Connecticut Medicaid.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the FBI are jointly investigating alleged bribery-laced claims for Medicaid services to Connecticut patients arranged by patient referral companies. The settlement with Family Dentistry is the second lawsuit to result from the investigation.
Between 2016 and 2018, Family Dentistry allegedly paid an outside recruiting firm $115 to reach Medicaid patients referred to it who were in need of more than routine preventive care.
“Paying kickbacks for patient recruitment is illegal. Dentists and dental practices participating in Connecticut’s public health programs have a responsibility to know the law. This is the second settlement resulting from ongoing joint investigations, and we will continue to work closely with our state and federal partners to vigorously protect the integrity of our public health programs,” said Attorney General Tong.
The settlement avoids criminal prosecution, but Family Dentistry admits no liability and prosecutors believe their conclusions are well-founded.