SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A Northern California dentist has been indicted for allegedly orchestrating a complicated scheme through which he defrauded a health care plan of more than $1 million for unnecessary dental work.
United States Attorney Benjamin Wagner announced in a statement Thursday that a federal grand jury had returned an 18-count indictment against 60-year-old David M. Lewis of Sacramento.
Lewis is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and mail fraud and 17 counts of health care fraud.
Citing court documents, Wagner said that in 2008 or 2009, Lewis began targeting United Parcel Service workers for dental treatment because their health plan under the Northern California General Teamsters Security Fund offered 100 percent coverage with no annual limits.
Lewis is accused of offering cash and other incentives to some patients for receiving treatment or for recruiting other UPS employees to receive treatment. He is also accused of billing the health plan’s administrator both for procedures that were never performed and for procedures that were unnecessary.
In some instances, Wagner said, Lewis drilled into healthy teeth and installed temporary fillings, then sent X-rays of the fillings to the administrator, claiming they showed tooth decay that required further treatment.
If convicted, Lewis faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain from the fraud, Wagner said.
A telephone message seeking comment from Lewis’ attorney, Malcolm Segal, was not immediately returned.
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