CT Dentists Enter $1.7M False Claims Settlement: Officials

STAMFORD, CT — Two dentists who own Family Dentistry offices in Stamford, Bridgeport and Hartford entered into a $1.7 million civil settlement agreement to resolve allegations they paid "kickbacks" to a third-party patient recruiting company and violated state and federal False Claims Act statutes, according to an announcement from Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery.

The Family Dentistry Entities are enrolled in the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program, which includes the Connecticut Medicaid program.

From approximately Feb. 1, 2016, through Aug. 31, 2018, the Family Dentistry entities, owned by Dr. Stanislav Gintautas and Dr. Tatiana Agababaeva, "are alleged to have paid a third-party patient recruiting company $115 for each Connecticut Medicaid patient the company referred to them, whenever a patient received dental services over and above routine preventative care (such as dental cleanings and exams)," Tong and Avery said in the joint announcement.

Officials say the conduct was prohibited by a federal anti-kickback law, and the Connecticut Dental Health Partnership provider manual (CTDHP).

"Paying kickbacks for patient recruitment is illegal. Dentists and dental practices participating in Connecticut’s public healthcare programs are responsible for knowing the law. This is the second 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," said Tong in the announcement.

The announcement noted that, "The CTDHP provider manual is an addendum to both the CMAP provider agreement, as well as the CMAP provider manual. The State of Connecticut and the United States contend that they had certain civil claims against Family Dentistry Entities for their submission of kickback-tainted claims to the CMAP for dental services allegedly rendered to Connecticut Medicaid patients referred to them by the patient recruiting company."

Tong and Avery stressed that "the settlement agreement with the Family Dentistry Entities, Dr. Gintautas and Dr. Agababaeva resolves those civil claims. The settlement agreement is neither an admission of liability by the Family Dentistry Entities, Dr. Gintautas, or Dr. Agababaeva, nor is it a concession by the State of Connecticut or the United States that their claims are not well founded."

Anyone with knowledge of suspected fraud or abuse in the public health care system is asked to contact the Attorney General’s Government Fraud Section at 860-808-5040 or by email at ag.fraud@ct.gov; the Connecticut Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at 860-258-5986 or by email at conndcj@ct.gov; or the Connecticut Department of Social Services fraud reporting hotline at 1-800-842-2155, online at www.ct.gov/dss/reportingfraud, or by email to providerfraud.dss@ct.gov.