Feds: Gwinnett Dentist Scammed Medicaid For $1 Million

DULUTH, GA — A dentist with offices in Duluth and Doraville has been sentenced to federal prison for scamming Georgia's Medicaid program out of nearly $1 million.

Dr. Oluwatoyin Solarin was sentenced by a judge in Atlanta to one year, six months in prison for filing false claims.

"Solarin cheated the Medicaid program by submitting fraudulent claims, even billing the government for procedures she allegedly performed at the same time she was out of the country," said U.S. Attorney John Horn. "The wealth she amassed through her scheme will now be forfeited and paid back to the government."

Solarin, a native of Nigeria, owned and operated Care Dental, with locations in Duluth ad Doraville.

From 2009 to 2013, prosecutors showed she submitted false claims to the Georgia Medicaid Program and Peach State Health Plan of Georgia Medicaid.

Several claims listed her as the treating dentist on days when she wasn't even in the United States, prosecutors said.

In other cases, Care Dental billed Medicaid for patients who weren't eligible for it. When patients' eligibility had expired, Solarin instructed an employee to backdate claims to false dates that resulted in claims being successfully paid.

Care Dental received $996,862.19 in fraudulent Medicaid claims, prosecutors said.

Solarin used much of that money to purchase real estate throughout the Atlanta area. As part of her plea agreement, she agreed to repay the money she received from the scheme and has agreed to forfeit her interest in more than a dozen real estate properties.

Her one year, six month prison sentence is to be followed by three years of supervised release. She was convicted on November 9 after pleading guilty.

The case was investigated by special agents of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Internal Revenue Service, and investigators from the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Georgia Department of Community Health.

Assistant United States Attorney Thomas J. Krepp and Georgia Assistant Attorney General Lyndie M. Freeman prosecuted the case.

Image via Care Dental LLC