Dr. Tuan Vu – sentenced to 4 years in prison for fraud

Dentist Sentenced for Health Care Fraud

A dentist who lives in Arlington but practices in Alexandria has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for health care fraud.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 43-year-old Tuan Vu, who owns Cosmetic & Family Dentistry, PLLC, pled guilty in January to committing health care fraud. Court documents show that Vu admitted the scheme took place at least from January 2007 to September 2011, when he billed dental insurance providers for services he never performed on his patients.

Because of the scheme, more than 50 private insurance providers lost more than $2 million. The federal government and the Commonwealth of Virginia also suffered losses, including more than $300,000 to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program and the Virginia Medicaid program.

Vu was sentenced to 46 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Additionally, he was ordered to pay a $250,000 fine and more than $2 million in restitution.

More on the brutality of Dr. Thomas P. Floyd

This report on Dr. Thomas P. Floyd - West Palm Beach dentist- holds true to the first hand reports I've received. In addition, it was reported to me, that the police received complaints "a couple times a week" about abuse taking place in Dr. Floyd's office. His ex-wife is an orthodontist in the area. Some reports about this brutal dungeon master go back years. To think this man is walking free is infuriating! HE BEAT CHILDREN on a regular basis!!!!!

Thomas P. Floyd, West Palm Beach, Florida Pediatric Dentist, Arrested for Child Abuse

September 20, 2012 , by Elaina Robbins
Thomas P. Floyd, a West Palm Beach, Florida pediatric dentist, was arrested Friday after he was accused of handling one of his 4-year-old patients roughly, reports say. Floyd, 61, was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on a single charge of child abuse. Officials also suspended his dentistry license following his arrest. It is unclear whether a bail bond was set for the defendant. It is also unknown whether Floyd has retained a private criminal defense lawyer.
Reports say that Floyd operated a pediatric dental office out of the 400 Executive Center in West Palm Beach prior to his arrest. His office specialized in dental care for children, teens, and young adults. However, earlier allegations about malpractice against certain patients reportedly surfaced in 2010. During one of those occasions, a 7-year-old female patient accused Floyd of placing her apron in her mouth during a procedure. The doctor reportedly did this to quiet the patient down. The girl apparently removed the apron, citing that she experienced difficulty breathing with it in her mouth. Reports indicate that Floyd did not face charges regarding this allegation.
In this more recent incident, a 4-year-old patient accused Floyd of striking him in the face several times during his appointment. The patient was not publicly identified by police because he is a juvenile. The case opened after a witness phoned police from Floyd's office, stating that a toddler in one of the office's examination rooms was making distressful noises. When detectives arrived, they located the frazzled boy, who reportedly explained to officers that "the doctor went pow pow on my face, and it hurt."
Investigators found that the child's lip was injured (Floyd purported was a result of the child nipping himself during the exam) and that the child's gums were inflamed. The mother took the child to St. Mary's Medical Center, where doctors located a small laceration under the boy's tongue. He also sustained several cuts to his lips and another cut to his gums. Investigators from the police department and Child Protection services cross examined the child and found the details to his story to be congruent.
A while after the incident, an employee at Floyd's office decided to speak to authorities regarding the boy's treatment. The witness, who remains anonymous, purportedly claimed that Floyd placed the boy on a medical stabilization board, which limited the child's mobility during his examination. He then attempted to perform a dental procedure, but the boy allegedly refused to open his mouth. Floyd then made several alleged attempts to open the mouth with what was described as an irritated mood.
During those purported attempts to open the child mouth, Floyd allegedly pried at the child's jaw with a pair of dental clamps.
However, the child reportedly spit the clamp out and the doctor attempted to force them back in, sources say. When that failed, the assistant alleged that Floyd "jammed" the child's mouth with a dental bit. At one point during the procedure, the assistant claimed that child's mouth began to bleed. The assistant then reportedly asked the patient in the waiting room to call police.

Shawn Zukosk Claims Dental Clinics did Unnecessary Dental Work

Shawn Zukosk Claims Dental Clinics did Unnecessary Dental Work

Submitted by Courthouse News on Sep 21, 2012

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (CN) - A man claims in court that he was one of many children who received poor dental care at the 22-state "Small Smiles" chain, which federal and state governments accused of doing unnecessary dental work while taking "hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars."     

Shawn Zukoski seeks punitive damages from Smalls Smiles Dentistry of Albany, five other LLCs or corporations, seven dentists and others.     

The complaint states: "In 2010, top law enforcement officials from the Department of Justice and representatives of numerous state governments (including New York), announced that they had uncovered a nationwide scheme directed at infant dental patients and the Medicaid system.

A dental clinic chain known as 'Small Smiles', operating in twenty-two states including New York - performed unnecessary, inappropriate, unsafe and excessive dental procedures on young children. It received hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars."     

Zukoski says he was treated at the clinic in suburban Albany from 2005 to 2007, when he was 13 to 15.     

During that time, he says, he got 12 fillings, a pulpotomy and crown, two extractions, four temporary crowns and two root canals.     

Sometimes X-rays were taken and sometimes not, but "treatments that were needed, including steps to prevent decay or its spread, were ignored," he says in the complaint.     Zukoski claims he "received treatment ... that was below the applicable standard of care and caused him to suffer injuries" at the hands of defendants Small Smiles Dentistry of Albany, Albany Access Dentistry, and dentists Maziar Izadi, Evan Goldstein and Judith Mori.     

He also sued an umbrella defendant called Old FORBA and a handful of dentists and others who organized and served as officers of the entities that comprised it.  

Medicaid Dental Fraud–Possible Scammers include Rotten Dentists, Gov. Perry, His Contractors and the Revolving Door.

Possible Scammers Include Rotten Dentists,
Gov. Perry, His Contractor & the Revolving Door

Governor Rick Perry denounced Obamacare’s insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansions this summer. Calling Medicaid “a failed program,” he compared expanding it to “adding a thousand people to the Titanic.”1 Now it seems as though Perry may have known more about Medicaid failure—and steering that particular Titantic—than he revealed at the time.

READ IT HERE

Besides state Dental Boards not policing their dentists as they should, the Department of Health and OSHA are failing as well.

Dr. Thomas Floyd, the brute dentist in Florida, arrested two weeks ago for beating up a 4 year-old child, was also found to operate a dental clinic in extremely unsanitary conditions.  One parent I spoke with said Dr. Floyd would not sanitize the stainless steel crowns when he was trying to find the right fit – in one child’s mouth, then another’s. He didn’t change gloves from patient to patient, nor did he sanitize his instruments. When the state finally got off their butts and went to check on these allegation – allegation that had gone on for 5 years – they discovered his facility to be a hazard. (I hope all the children who have seen this dentist are receiving blood tests!)
It appears Florida is not the only state NOT checking on dental offices. South Carolina, another state that allows dental mills to run amok doesn’t check either. I bet they check tattoo parlors!

Dentists face no routine checks
September 20,2012

Written by 
Mike Foley
Staff writer

The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation last year conducted 4,626 routine inspections of cosmetologists and barbers.
During that same time, the agency conducted zero routine inspections of the state’s dentists. The South Carolina Board of Dentistry — which falls under the agency’s jurisdiction — also conducted no routine inspections. The hands-off situation extended to two other state agencies: The Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Yet right now, while each of those regulatory boards handles some regulatory aspect over dentists or dental practices, routine inspections are not included.
The Board of Dentistry conducts licensing exams and annual registration of dentists, dental hygienists, dental laboratory technicians and ortho-technicians. It also, investigates complaints and conducts disciplinary hearings.
Under the South Carolina OSHA, dentist offices are subject to the federal safety standards such as the “Bloodborne Pathogens Standard” and guidelines for X-ray machines. Employees must safeguard themselves with gloves, face and eye protection and gowns, but no routine inspections are conducted for compliance.
This leaves the state’s dentists solely responsible for infection control in their own facilities, responsible for patient safety, for their own safety and for the safety of their staff. Yet, while some local dentists interviewed said precautions and regulations in place protect patients, they wouldn’t be averse to routine inspections.

Can someone be paid to be a jumping up and down idiot? Yes! Here’s proof.

If Pigs Could Fly And Dental Professionals Could Be Turned Bad By Private Equity Investment
Thomas A. Climo

A NONSENSE ARGUMENT MORE IN TUNE WITH LOBBYING THAN COMMON SENSE
On May 30, 2012, DrBicuspid.com provided an article written by Donna Domino, features editor. It was titled “Private equity firms eye big profits in dentistry.” Ms. Domino was the second journalist to reach out to me that month. The first was Sydney Freedberg of Bloomsberg, whose piece was “Dental abuse seen driven by private equity investments” on May 16.

Both journalists were nice, courteous, and consummate professionals. I want to make clear that although I believe I was very helpful in providing them with data and insight from my consulting of both group and solo dental practices, I did not say one negative word about private equity investment into dentistry.

A third journalist, Josh Kosman of the New York Post, will confirm this, even though he also wrote an article with the provocative title that replaced an “S” with a “$” entitled “Private equity firms $ink teeth into dentistry,” published August 27, 2010.

The exaggerations contained in all three articles tying private equity investment to bad dentistry are only anecdotal, and not supported by serious statistical numbers.

But…but…but “Equivalent PhD, Climo, you said, and I’ll quote:

“…private-equity firms are likely to work dentists longer once they take over practices to boost profits and that could lead to worse service.”

 

The Great Dental Surgery Fraud of 2012

The Great Dental Surgery Fraud of 2012
September 6, 2012

So, remember a while ago when I told you that Little Man had 13 cavities and would need oral surgery?  Well, that has turned into something resembling a three ring circus.  I will just say right off the bat that I don't really care for the dental office but we didn't have many choices for dentists who accept Medicaid.  They didn't do anything overtly wrong, per se, it was more of a mother's intuition.

After the appointment where they told me he practically needed a whole new set of teeth, a woman in scrubs (I have no idea who she was or what her job function is) whisked me into a conference room, had me sign a bunch of papers, called the surgery center and had an appointment for Little Man's surgery within a matter of 10 minutes.  Seriously.  I felt like I was at a used car lot!  Once I had finished signing the papers, scrub woman asked me who would be signing the consent for him to go under anesthesia.  I said that it would be his DHS worker since DHS is his legal guardian.  Fine, no problem.  They'd call her and get her to sign the papers, which they did.  His surgery was supposed to be yesterday.
The day before the surgery, as I am walking out the door with five children in tow to take two to their first day of school, my cell phone rings.  When I check the voicemail later, there is a message from Little Man's DHS worker but, because it was cutting in and out, all I got was something about her not being able to make it to the surgery the next day.  Um, okay.  I didn't think she would.  Then I received a call from the surgery center telling me that we would have to reschedule because the DHS worker was "unwilling" to sign over legal guardianship to me for the day so he could get surgery.  Um, okay.  What the WHAT?!  A judge is in charge of assigning guardianship...what is this woman talking about?!

Read this mom’s entire story on her blog “It’s a Vertical Life”

10 year old Marcos Tirado’s dad says no one tried to save his son

 

• Father claims no one tried to save his son
• Six Links of Survival @ RMBF

• TSBDE Letter: Patient Death/Injury/Hospital

• Dental Sedation Responsible For At Least 31 Child Deaths Over 15 Years

Heartland Dental–Rick Workman paid $3 mil to settle fraud charged in 2008; May 2012 they got their $3 million back

On May 23, 2012, Rick Workman breaks ground on a HUGE expansion for their corporate headquarters in Effing-no-where, IL. Part of the new facility will be for “training” purposes and I’m sure the psychiatric department will have new offices. Psychiatric department you ask? Yes, that’s what I’m told. If you can’t maintain your production numbers, they actually have psychologists come for a little chit chat. A little couch time, so to speak.

Now,less than 4 months later, Workman has put Heartland up for sale, asking price… a mere $1.4 BILLION dollars.

To here him tell it, he just leases the use of some appointment scheduling software, that he doesn’t even own, and does some payroll services for independent dental clinics. (liar, liar, pants on fire…) 

I’m sure the folks of Illinois are tickled pink to give Workman his $3 million dollars back for his “expansion”.  ( $3 mil is the EXACT amount Heartland had to pay to settle fraud allegations in 2008.) Did anyone hear the “Kennedy” tone in the voice?

HOMES 

In Effingham, IL Richard Eugene and Angie Workman’s home is located at 16130 Hildene Drive, Effingham, IL 62401

4-Year-Old Given Double Root Canal by School Dentist Without Parents' Permission

Posted by Jeanne Sager on September 13, 2012 at 9:57 AM

There's such a huge pile of forms to fill out when our kids go back to school that you kind of lose track: am I signing up to be a school trip chaperone here or am I signing my life away? You might be tempted to rush right through them all. But the story of a little boy was given two unnecessary root canals by a dentist in his school's art room -- without his parents being consulted -- should be enough to kill that temptation.

Stacey Gagnon did agree to let her son Isaac get a basic examination from a dentist at school. Who can blame her? It seems like smart parenting to me. Which is why what happened to this little guy is so scary.

Stacey and husband Darren say Isaac didn't "just" get a basic examination. They say a dentist who they'd never met took their 4-year-old into the school art room and performed not one but two root canals and put in two steel crowns. The Gagnons say no anesthesia was used to numb the little man's pain. Instead they allege that three adults held him down as he kicked, screamed, and gagged. Not surprisingly they say their son now has night terrors and a desperate fear of "the dentist man."

That right there makes me furious. There is no excuse for terrifying and torturing a child. Even if this were something the parents had said "OK" to, even if this were in a professional dentist's office, that's out of line. Kids deserve to be treated with the same care as adults.

But hold your fury. It's about to get worse: the Gagnons say they never received a call asking for the go-ahead to do these procedures, and a pediatric dentist hired by the Gagnons says he doesn't see why these procedures were performed in the first place.

So a child was tortured (because, yes, that's what a root canal without anesthesia is) for nothing? NOTHING? AND his parents weren't told?

I can't say for sure, but it sounds like some greedy dentist was hoping to make more money off of the school district. And picking a 4-year-old makes sense: they are so young they don't know to say no or ask someone to call their Mom.

But as the Gagnons wage a lawsuit against the dentist for malpractice, I keep going back to what Stacey agreed to for Isaac. It sounds like she was doing what we all do: saying, hey, sure, free medical care for the kid!

I know I sign my daughter up for a free in-school cleaning every year because it's added protection for her little mouth. Because we live in such a poor district, we can even get free fluoride treatments for our kids.

But the more I think about it, the more I realize the forms we get for these kinds of things from our school districts are pretty vague. Do we really know what we're getting our kids into when they're away from us for long hours and we can't step in to care for them?

I hope the Gagnons have a good lawyer who can sort this out and get some justice for little Isaac, but it's a good lesson to the rest of us to double and triple check those forms.

Do you allow your child's school to perform dental work on your kids? Does this story impact your decisions?

Head on over to 'The Stir” and read all the comments by moms.  Mom’s are outraged.