NY tries to recoup millions in Medicaid fraud case

Apr 22, 2010

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is attempting to reclaim more than $7 million the state spent on fraudulent billings by a New York City family who allegedly paid Medicaid recipients, mostly from homeless shelters, to come into the dental offices they ran throughout the city.

David Ibragimov; his son, Arthur Ibragimov; and his son-in-law, Mikhail Iskov, allegedly ran a series of Medicaid-billing dental mills in Queens, Bronx, and Brooklyn, where individuals were paid to come and then received "substandard treatment," according to a criminal complaint filed by Cuomo.

The three were not licensed dentists in New York, according to the complaint.

The patients would receive about $10 to $15, or sometimes an MP3 player, each time they would visit an office belonging to the Ibragimovs, Cuomo said. A dentist who worked in one of the mills reported witnessing patients being paid in cash, CD players, and McDonald's gift certificates, the complaint stated.

"This illegal scheme garnered millions of dollars and covered its trail with phony invoices, shell companies, and street-hustling flyer boys," according to the complaint.

The state Medicaid program was allegedly billed for $7.2 million between January 2007 and March 2010 by the Ibragimovs and Iskov, Cuomo said.

Four dentists who admitted to taking part in the scam agreed to testify against the Ibragimovs and Iskov. One dentist reportedly admitted to knowing that "flyer boys" would recruit destitute individuals in the area, including from homeless shelters, according to court documents.

Another dentist told investigators that he saw Arthur Ibragimov and a flyer boy get into a fistfight over pay.

Another dentist admitted that David Ibragimov first paid him $500 to $700 per day, then paid him based on a percentage of his billings, the complaint stated. After that, the dentist paid Ibragimov based on the invoices Ibragimov gave the dentist, which amounted to two-thirds of the dentist's Medicaid billing for the period, according to the complaint.

More than 35 people worked at the dental clinics, Cuomo said.

Cuomo said his office is looking to reclaim millions and noted the amount will be determined during a trial, for which the date has not yet been set.