Hamden Dentist Accused Of Fraudulently Billing Medicaid By $200K

HAMDEN, CT — A Hamden dentist with an office in North Haven is accused of defrauding Medicaid by billing the government health care program more than $200,000 for services he didn’t perform, according to officials.

Christian O’Connor, 53, of Hamden, was arrested Wednesday and charged with first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community and health insurance fraud. O’Conner, a dentist at Renew Dental in North Haven, was taken into custody by inspectors from the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Chief State’s Attorney’s office.

O’Connor, the sole owner and principal of Renew Dental, is accused of submitting $200,484 in false claims to Medicaid between July 2016 and March 2021 for dental work that wasn’t performed, according to authorities.

“The submission of claims to the Department of Social Services provided by O’Connor contained false, incomplete, deceptive or misleading information which constitutes the crime of Health Insurance Fraud,” officials wrote in a news release.

O’Connor was released after posting a $100,000 bond with a court date of Aug. 18.

Anyone with knowledge of suspected fraud or abuse in the public healthcare system is asked to contact the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney in Rocky Hill at 860-258-5986.