The law firm of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman announces the resolution of a whistleblower lawsuit that helped the federal government and the state of Texas recover $8.45 million from Texas-based MB2 Dental Solutions (MB2) for allegedly submitting fraudulent claims to Medicaid for pediatric dental services that were never provided, were tainted by kickbacks, or misrepresented the individuals who performed the service.
The whistleblower was represented in this case by Mark Schlein and Diane Marger Moore of Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman.
MB2, 19 affiliated pediatric dental practices, their owners and a marketing chief deny the allegations but agreed to pay the United States and the Texas Medicaid program to resolve allegations that they knowingly submitted false claims for Medicaid reimbursement.
MB2 is a dental management firm based in Carrollton, Texas, providing management services to its affiliated dental offices. The dental practices named in the settlement include: Dental Professionals of Texas PLLC; Archstone Dental PLLC; Bliss Dental PLLC; Crescent Dental PLLC; Dental Central PLLC; Dental Family Circle PLLC d/b/a Forney Wellness Dental; DFW Family Dental Centers PLLC; Element Dental PLLC; Fresh Dental PLLC; Galaxy Dental PLLC; Legend Dental PLLC; Peppermint Dental PLLC; Picasso Dental PLLC; Sage Dental PLLC; Spearmint Dental PLLC; Tide Dental PLLC; Vida Dental PLLC; Viva Orthodontics PLLC and Wow Dental PLLC.
According to the allegations, between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2014, MB2 and its affiliated practices:
- Knowingly submitted claims to the Texas Medicaid Fee for Service Program for single-surface fillings in pediatric patients that were never provided.
- Paid kickbacks to Medicaid beneficiaries and their families, marketers, and marketing companies.
- Misrepresented the individuals that performed pediatric procedures through the use of erroneous Medicaid provider numbers.
As part of the settlement agreement, Drs. Christopher Steven Villanueva, Trung Minh Tang, Mauricio Dardano, Gabriel Shahwan and Akhil Reddy agreed to pay $250,000 each to resolve the governments' claims against them individually. They are owners or part owners of MB2 and the affiliated dental practices included in this settlement.
MB2, Drs. Villanueva, Tang, Dardano, Shahwan, and Reddy will also enter into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
Frank Villanueva, MB2's head of marketing, also will pay $100,000 to resolve his alleged personal liability.
This settlement agreement is neither an admission of liability by the defendants nor a concession by the United States or Texas that their claims are not well founded.
Some of the allegations resolved in the case were originally filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which entitles the relator to a share of any recovered money from a successful claim. The whistleblower in this case, a former MB2 employee who wishes to remain anonymous, will receive $1.521 million.
"We all know that healthcare fraud is a way of life, but this case is particularly egregious because it allegedly involves painful dental procedures done on very young children," says attorney Mark Schlein, who represented the whistleblower in this case. "To make it even more unthinkable, the children were essentially sold to the dentists by their parents for the price of a gift card. "
About Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman
Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman is a national law firm representing whistleblowers across the United States and abroad. The firm has successfully recovered more than $1.5 billion on behalf of clients across the nation in all of its areas of practice. Their attorneys continue to be nationally recognized for their achievements in prominent legal publications and websites including, The Best Lawyers in America®, Southern California Super Lawyers®, Avvo.com, Lawyers.com and The Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. The firm's main office is in Los Angeles, with additional offices in Washington, D.C, Philadelphia and locations throughout California.
Link to DOJ's statement about this case: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/pr/texas-dental-management-firm-19-affiliated-dental-practices-and-their-owners-and