NY dentist faces 61 counts of insurance fraud

A federal grand jury has returned a 61-count indictment charging former dentist Tejbir Oberoi, 65, of Kenmore, NY, with mail fraud and making false statements in connection with healthcare matters, U.S. Attorney William Hochul Jr. announced August 11. The charges each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Rogowski, who is handling the case, stated that the indictment charges Oberoi with submitting false claims to insurance companies and healthcare benefit programs seeking payment for dental services that he never rendered to his patients between 1993 and 1999. Oberoi had pleaded guilty to similar charges in 2004 and was sentenced to 63 months in jail. He completed service of his jail sentence in February of 2008, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York.

However, Oberoi's conviction was vacated earlier this year following a Supreme Court decision addressing the Speedy Trial Act. Following that decision, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the original indictment to which Oberoi pleaded guilty should be dismissed without prejudice because the case did not involve the government's intentional noncompliance with the Speedy Trial Act. Thus, the government was permitted to present the case to a new grand jury.

Copyright © 2010 DrBicuspid.com