FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Rocky Hill, CT) - A dentist with an office in North Haven was sentenced today for defrauding Medicaid by billing the government health insurance program for dental work he did not perform.
Christian O’Connor, age 54, a dentist and owner of Renew Dental in North Haven, was sentenced today in Hartford Superior Court by the Honorable David P. Gold to five years in prison, execution of that time suspended, with three years of a conditional discharge. The defendant paid $200,484.52 in restitution and was ordered not to act as a provider in the Medicaid program.
O’Connor had pleaded nolo contendere to charges of Larceny in the First Degree By Defrauding a Public Community in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-122(a)(4), and Health Insurance Fraud in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53-442 on November 20, 2023.
The investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney determined that between 2016 and 2020, O’Connor routinely billed for restorations on multiple teeth, on the same date of service, for numerous patients. A review of the dental records could not substantiate the work was performed. Numerous patients interviewed denied the major dental work was done even though O’Connor billed for performing this work sometimes two and even three times on the same patient on the same teeth over a period of time, occasionally billing for work on teeth that already had been extracted. The investigation focused only on the claims for restorations on twelve teeth on the same day for the same patient.
The investigation found that O’Connor was paid by the Connecticut Medicaid Program for the unperformed work the amount of $200,484.52. By being found guilty to a program-related felony, the defendant is also subject to mandatory exclusion as a health care provider to certain federally funded health programs pursuant to federal and state laws and regulations. Medicaid is a government program that provides health coverage to low-income and disabled individuals, and is financed both by the federal and state governments and administered by the Connecticut Department of Social Services.
The case was prosecuted by the Connecticut Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The Unit is grateful for the assistance it received from the Connecticut Department of Social Services – Office of Quality Assurance, the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office, and the New Britain Police Department.
The Connecticut Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $2,988,308.00 for the fiscal year of October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $996,099.00 for the same fiscal year, is funded by the State of Connecticut.
Anyone with knowledge of suspected fraud or abuse in the public healthcare system is asked to contact the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney at (860) 258-5986.