Korean-American dentists have agreed to pay nearly a $500,000 settlement after admitting to making false claims about recruited Medicaid patients.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut and the state attorney’s office recently filed a civil lawsuit against Bohun Choi and Michong Son for allegedly operating C&S Family Dentistry in New Britain and Waterbury and hiring a patient referral company to provide kickbacks for each recruited Medicaid patient. The allegations constitute a violation of the federal and state False Claims Acts.
On May 6, Choi and Son pleaded guilty to both charges and agreed to pay $498,310 in reimbursement.
The dentists hired a patient recruitment company and paid $110 for each Medicaid-benefited patient recruited from April 2018 to January 2020, according to the attorney’s office. The dentists allegedly provided these patients with frequent or excessive services beyond normal dental care.
According to state and federal laws, it is unlawful to offer kickbacks for patient recruitment, and it is also against the law to provide services beyond what Medicaid specifies.
For violations of these Medicaid rules, the federal government can seek reimbursement from providers of more than three times the amount of damages and can recover up to $27,000 per claim, the state attorney’s office said.
BY BRIAN CHOI, HOONSIK WOO [ichoi@koreadaily.com]
