The operator of a dental clinic in Houston was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for orchestrating a $6 million Medicaid fraud and kickback scheme.
Rene Gaviola, 68, was the operator of Floss Family Dental Care. From 2018 to April 2021, Mr. Gaviola submitted false claims to Medicaid for pediatric dental services, according to a June 25 news release from the Justice Department.
Mr. Gaviola employed his son, who is not a licensed dentist, to provide dental services to children and occasionally operated the practice without any licensed dentists present.
Between 2019 and 2021, the clinic billed Medicaid for nearly $6.9 million in dental services, of which Medicaid paid approximately $4.9 million.
Mr. Gaviola also conducted a kickback scheme by paying kickbacks to marketers and caregivers of Medicaid-insured children to bring them to Floss Family Dental Care.
In addition, Mr. Gaviola was ordered to pay $4.9 million in restitution to Medicaid and a personal money judgment of nearly $3 million, the release said.
Mr. Gaviola pleaded guilty to the scheme in January.