CT AG Reaches Settlement With Norwalk Dentists In 'Kickback' Case

NORWALK, CT — A Norwalk dental practice and its owners have agreed to pay nearly $500,000 to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to the state and federal governments by illegally paying for patient referrals, officials said Thursday.

Advanced Dental Center PC and its owners, Tal Yossefi and Elad Yossefi, will pay $495,721 under a settlement with the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.

According to the settlement, Advanced Dental allegedly paid a third-party company $120 for each Connecticut Medicaid patient referred to the practice between July and December 2018, when the patient received services beyond routine preventative care. Authorities said those payments violated federal anti-kickback laws and the terms of the state’s Medicaid program.

The case is the fourth settlement to result from ongoing civil investigations into illegal referral arrangements involving Connecticut Medicaid providers, state and federal officials said.

“Paying kickbacks for patient recruitment is illegal,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a statement. “Dentists participating in Connecticut’s public healthcare programs are responsible for knowing the law.”

The investigation involved the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the FBI.
State officials encouraged anyone with information about potential fraud or abuse in public healthcare programs to contact the Attorney General’s Office, the Connecticut Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, or the state Department of Social Services.

The case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Joshua L. Jackson, Legal Investigator Timothy Edwards, and Deputy Associate Attorney General Gregory O’Connell.