AG Gansler Secures Settlement from Baltimore County Dentist
Owner of Baltimore city practice must repay $25K to Medicaid program
Baltimore, MD (January 3, 2014) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that the State of Maryland has reached an agreement with Lisa Valentine, D.D.S., of Woodstock, for her to repay the Medicaid program $25,000 in civil damages for services that were billed, but never rendered. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) of the Office of the Attorney General conducted an investigation into the practice of Dr. Valentine, which included numerous interviews with her former patients and staff.
"The hardworking taxpayers who fund the Medicaid program deserve to know that their money is benefiting those it is intended to help," said Attorney General Gansler. "Our office took swift and decisive action against this dentist who was trying to abuse the system."
The investigation showed that Dr. Valentine's husband, Spencer Brown, in his capacity as an employee of the practice, billed the Medicaid program for services that were not provided.
Brown previously pleaded guilty to one count of Medicaid fraud for submitting the fraudulent claims to the Medicaid program from January 2008 through November 2010. He received a sentence of five years incarceration, with all but one year suspended, and was ordered to pay restitution of $156,918 to the Medicaid program.
Attorney General Gansler thanked Assistant Attorneys General Tom Rafter and Shelly Martin, as well as Investigator Mark Holback, all of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, for their work on this case.
