Just last week a federal judge sentenced a Wellesley psychiatrist to eight years in prison for fraudulently bill Medicare and private insurers over $19 million. (See my post Wellesley Psychiatrist Gets 8 Years in Prison for $19m in Fraudulent Billing to Medicare and Private Insurers.)
Today the Massachusetts Attorney General announced that dentist Meenakshy Yegneswaran, 55, and her business Pleasant Street Dental, PC, were indicted by a Worcester County Grand Jury on the following charges:
- Medicaid False Claims, G.L. c. 118E, § 40
- Larceny Over $1,200, G.L. c. 266, § 30; and
- Medicaid Excess Charges, G.L. c. 118E, § 42.
According to the Attorney General,
Yegneswaran and Pleasant Street billed MassHealth for dental services that were never provided, including during times when Yegneswaran, the only dentist working at the practice, was out of the country. The AGO further alleges that Yegneswaran and Pleasant Street charged MassHealth patients cash for prescription mouthwash that otherwise would have been covered by MassHealth, a practice which is illegal under Massachusetts law. The estimated amount that Yegneswaran and Pleasant Street are alleged to have fraudulently obtained from MassHealth is approximately $2.06 million.