Dental Clinic Operator Gets 10 Years in Prison for $6 Million Medicaid Fraud Scheme
- June 28, 2024
Dentist Rene Fernandez Gaviola was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for orchestrating a $6 million Medicaid fraud and kickback scheme, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Alamdar S. Hamdani announced June 25.
Gaviola, the operator of Floss Family Dental Care clinic, submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid for pediatric dental services, including numerous cavity fillings which Floss did not provide or unlicensed individuals provided.
According to a press release, Gaviola illegally employed his son, who was not a licensed dentist, to provide dental services to Medicaid-insured children and occasionally operated Floss without any licensed dentists present. Floss then fraudulently billed Medicaid for these services.
Gaviola also paid kickbacks to marketers and caregivers of Medicaid-insured children to bring them to Floss for dental services, the release said.