Norwalk dental practice pays almost $500K settlement in Medicaid ‘patient recruiting’ kickback scheme
State of Connecticut
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong
Advanced Dental Center PC, a dental practice at 454 Main Ave., in Norwalk, has agreed to pay a $459,721 settlement for allegedly committing a Medicaid “patient recruiting” kickback scheme during the second half of 2018.
Attorney General William Tong and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut said Friday the practice allegedly paid $120 for each Connecticut Medicaid patient referred to them for dental services beyond routine preventative care.
Owners Tal Yossefi and Elad Yossefi allegedly carried out the scheme through the state’s Connecticut Medical Assistance Program, in violation of state and federal False Claims Act statutes.
“Paying kickbacks for patient recruitment is illegal,” Tong said. “Dentists participating in Connecticut’s public healthcare programs are responsible for knowing the law. This is the fourth settlement arising from ongoing joint investigations, and we will continue to work closely with our state and federal partners to aggressively protect the integrity of our public healthcare programs.”
The settlement is not an admission of liability by the practice and its owners, but they agreed to enter into the settlement to resolve the matter without protracted litigation, said Jody Erdfarb, their attorney.
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