$1.2M In Fraudulent Medicaid Claims Results In Prison Time For Dentist

GREENBELT, MD — A 70-year-old Silver Spring dentist was sentenced in federal court on Friday to 30 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to court documents. He was also ordered to pay more that $1.2 million in restitution to Medicaid.

Edward T. Buford III pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and healthcare fraud in connection with a scheme to file fraudulent Medicaid claims for dental services to Medicaid beneficiaries.

A licensed dentist in Washington, D.C., Buford enlisted the help of Medicaid beneficiaries to carry out the scheme by paying them kickbacks and bribes, according to court documents

Buford admitted in court that from January 2013 to May 2018 he submitted a number of fraudulent claims to Medicaid for a variety of dental services, such as dentures. He paid kickbacks to Medicaid beneficiaries to submit claims to International Dental Associates, Inc. a D.C. dental clinic he owned and where he served as CEO.

Buford also paid the beneficiaries kickbacks for recruiting other Medicaid beneficiaries who would file fraudulent claims through the clinic, according to court documents. Burford said he paid $20 to $50 in cash for the bribes.

Although the fitting of dentures would usually require multiple visits, Buford only paid the beneficiaries for their first visit. He would then submit fraudulent claims for followup visits, even though most for the beneficiaries never returned to the clinic after receiving a bribe at their first appointment, according to court documents.

To facilitate the scheme, Buford used a Silver Spring post office box as the clinic's billing address. That is where he received the fraudulently obtained payments from Medicaid, according to court documents.

In total, Medicaid paid Buford and the clinic at least $1,267,630 for the dentures that were never delivered.

In addition to the jail time, U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang ordered Buford on Friday to pay $1,267,630 in restitution.