Sorry, there is no mistake or confusion. It's the one and the same. Creative financing and a few (very few) corporate heads rolling does not a completely different company make. Good try.
I suspect in the future we will see New FORBA and NEW NEW FORBA side by side in court just as we have Old FORBA and New FORBA today.
A dead fish by any other name still stinks.
PS. there is issue with jury being "stalked" so verdict is not set in stone.
Remember when the American taxpayers (you) bailed out American International Group (AIG) to the tune of $185 BILLION dollars in 2008? ![AIG Bailout[1]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMvMboz89CJvMfEwN_ZQ-vVlOw9KG64bs1_E4jnGwQQKe1udoPNoTPWbXQUuGntdS0cqtoCQnJA8ePj5W8WqhlJAbFlrr8T94A0ZlXjEap-H2eBEmZ9XzYDMWZtNS7y36hvg/s1600-h/AIG%252520Bailout%25255B1%25255D%25255B3%25255D.jpg "AIG Bailout[1]")
The latest victim of AIG’s bullying is an 11 year old boy in Syracuse, New York and the jurors who were to decide how much this child should be compensated for their policy holders misdeeds.
There were 30 trials on schedule in New York by former patients of Small Smiles Dental Centers. Many of these patients were 2, 3 and 4 years old when they victims of the clinics formerly located in Syracuse, Albany and Rochester. There is much information about Small Smiles Dental Centers and their so called “management company” on the web and this blog, so I’m not going to bore anyone with more of that.
The first of the 30 trials finally made it to a jury October 7, 2013. The complaint was filed in April of 2011 against, Edward DeRose, Michael DeRose, Dan DeRose, William Mueller, Adolph Padula, Michael Roumph, Dr. Naveed Aman, Dr. Koury Bonds, Dr. Yaqoob Khan and more, plus a host of dummy corporations set up to hide the true ownership of the clinics and make it difficult to track the hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulently obtained Medicaid money they pocketed.
After trying to bury two judges and the attorneys representing the little boy—now 11 years old—in mountains (and I do mean mountains) of ridiculous pleadings, testimony finally began September 23, 2013 in Syracuse.
The trial lasted for 2 1/2 weeks. You can read all the transcripts here. I urge you to take time to read them. It’s more entertaining than anything on television this fall and better read than any book on The Times Best Seller list since 50 Shades of Grey—however I do think the transcripts and the book could carry the same title. There was a lot of shadiness happening in that courthouse and the testimony from the accused had more twists of the truth than a pretzel factory and there were so many bodies being thrown under the bus, the courtroom could have doubled for a Greyhound bus station.
On Dental Claims, State’s Bark Worse Than Its Biteby Becca Aaronson
October 15, 2013
Texans discovered nearly two years ago that the state was spending more on orthodontic claims in its Medicaid program than the other 49 states combined, but recovery of millions in purportedly misspent Medicaid money has moved slowly.
After a couple judicial setbacks, the Health and Human Services Commission’s Office of Inspector General has stepped up its game by bringing in the big guns at the attorney general's office and private counsel. The OIG also hired a chief dental director, Dr. Linda Altenhoff, and is making sure that multiple dental experts review cases before they’re brought to a judge. The outcome of those efforts will be apparent when an administrative judge rules on a case testing the state's evidence for withholding payments to Antoine Dental Center in Houston, which was argued in May.
Meanwhile, the accused Medicaid providers have made it clear they aren’t returning any money — or allowing the state to sully their reputations — without a fight. They’ve formed a coalition, Texas Dentists for Medicaid Reform, and filed a lawsuit against the state challenging the OIG’s hardball tactics of withholding Medicaid payments for months on end during fraud investigations with limited evidence that fraud occurred.
[We can’t forget about Texas Dentists for Medicaid Fraud. See links at end of this blog post.]
After WFAA-TV in Dallas reported in December 2011 that Texas spent more on braces and Medicaid orthodontic claims between 2008 and 2010 than the other 49 states combined, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a report that found the Texas Medicaid and Healthcare Partnership, the company contracted by the state to process Medicaid claims, had only one dentist on staff and essentially rubber-stamped dental and orthodontia claims without reviewing whether those services were medically necessary.
Prison time for a Connecticut dentist who swindled millions from the federal Medicaid program.
Gary Anusavice, 60, used recruiters, to seek poor patients who used Medicaid. Then he would perform unnecessary dental procedures and file fraudulent Medicaid claims that added up to $20 million, $3.3 million he collected for himself from 2008 through 2012.
Anusavice is now sentenced to eight years in prison and has been ordered to pay $10 million in fines, give up his luxurious Rhode Island home, a boat, his Mercedes, and about $90,000 in cash found at his home.
He operated a network of clinics where the fraud went on in the central, southern and western parts of Connecticut.
By EDMUND H. MAHONY, emahony@courant.com The Hartford Courant
9:32 p.m. EDT, October 9, 2013
HARTFORD — A dentist barred from practicing elsewhere in New England was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison for operating assembly line-style clinics in Connecticut that targeted poor patients, performed unnecessary dental procedures and collected on more than $20 million in fraudulent claims from Medicaid.
Gary Anusavice, 60, operated networks of clinics in the south, central and western parts of the state from 2008 to 2012 and personally collected more than $3.3 million from the fraud.
Under a variety of settlements with the state and federal governments, Anusavice will pay more than $10 million in fines and restitution, in addition to giving the government his 8,000-square-foot home in Rhode Island, his boat, his Mercedes-Benz and about $90,000 in cash that investigators found in the home.
Anusavice opened clinics in areas where high concentrations of low-income people relied on the federal government's Medicaid program for medical treatment. Medicaid, which is administered in Connecticut by the state Department of Social Services, reimburses physicians for costs they incur while treating patients who are unable to pay.
Case Number:
5:2013cv00322
Filed:
May 2013
Fortress Ins. v. Ocean Dental, Chad Hoecker, Robin Lockwood Amended Complaint Filed August 23, 2013
Fortress alleges neither Dr.Lockwood, Dr.Hoecker, nor Ocean Dental complied w/ requests for patient records, as their MP insurance carrier, against terms of their contract. They allegedly never alerted Fortress of pending claims, as required under the insurance contract. IMHO- Fortress makes a good point for Declaratory Judgment. That would leave Dr.Lockwood & Ocean Dental "naked", w/out Malpractice coverage. Yikes!
Dr Lockwood is currently serving time at Federal Medical Center Carswell, in Fort Worth, TX. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Medical_Center,_Carswell
One big issue is the policy time period for Dr.Lockwood & Dr. Hoecker. Some acts were allegedly made outside the time period of insurance coverage. If so, Dr. Lockwood & Dr. Hoecker were operating "bare" (w/out coverage). Depending on terms of employment w/ Ocean Dental, Dr. Lockwood has a potential counterclaim against Ocean Dental, if they neglected to provide MP insurance coverage to her, as defined under her employment contract.
Dr. Hoecker denies knowledge of the terms in the Dr.Lockwood policy. If Ocean Dental purchased this policy, that would be absurd. BTW- a "claims made" policy will not cover for acts filed AFTER the term period of the policy expires. Thus, a "tail" policy would need to be purchased. Obviously, there was no tail coverage purchased.
Seem just serving time for ones sins is just the beginning of a long life of misery for Dr. Lockwood, while ole Chad Hoecker is singing “Free Bird”.
I hope all these dentists are paying close attention!
Here is a link to all the documents found on the case-
http://www.scribd.com/collections/4366323/Ocean-Dental-Stilwater-Oklaho
By Jim McBride
jim.mcbride@amarillo.com
September 19, 2013 - 4:57pm
A Travis County judge has awarded more than $22,000 in legal fees to an Amarillo law firm that helped expose more than $1 million in Medicaid fraud at a local orthodontics clinic.
Amarillo attorney Phil Russ, who represented three former employees of Goodwin Orthodontics, credited Kristen De Los Santos, Sandy De Los Santos and Lissa Eason with exposing health care fraud at the clinic that led to the federal conviction of Amarillo orthodontist David Goodwin.
“The money needs to go to those women,” Russ said Thursday. “This is an example of how responsible citizens can help save our taxpayer dollars from being drained away from government programs by fraud. It takes a whistleblower who sees it happening to sound the alarm, because fraud is a game of stealth and concealment.”
On Wednesday, a Travis County judge awarded the state of Texas and the three Amarillo women more than $4.2 million in damages against Goodwin and the clinic in a whistleblower lawsuit.
Russ said Thursday the women could receive some money from the case if the state and federal authorities collect enough restitution from Goodwin and the clinic. If state and federal authorities collect $4 million from the clinic, the women could theoretically split $630,000 to $840,000, he said.
Thomas Floyd. (PBSO, Handout )
He developed a reputation over three decades as a champion of dental care for poor children.
But behind the walls of Thomas Floyd's dental practice, some former employees said they heard children screaming in pain and terror.
While his September 2012 arrest for child neglect shocked many in the community, hundreds of pages of records obtained by the Sun Sentinel detail a trail of disturbing allegations that the West Palm Beach children's dentist physically and verbally abused patients dating back as far as 2001.
One father said he took his 5-year-old daughter to Floyd in 2011 and the dentist mistakenly pulled three good teeth. State authorities accused Floyd of confusing the girl with another patient.
"It's horrifying that your daughter goes in for a dental cleaning and comes out missing teeth," said the father, Benjamin Rodriguez. "[Floyd] just didn't care."
Floyd and his attorney have argued he's the the target of false accusations leveled by disgruntled employees and difficult parents.
Among the allegations in state records and police reports:
Opportunity Available 3-18-13 Office Name: Edward E Dove DDS PC
Contact Person: Eddie Dove
Practice Location: Bakersfield and Chatsworth
Address: 3130 Union Ave Bakersfield, CA 93305
Date Needed: Varies
Days Needed: Varies
Telephone: 818 644-7124
Fax: 661 872-9257
Email: pediatricdentist18@gmail.com
Requirements: oral sedation certificate
Information: I am presently looking for part time or on call to cover for me. I am presently going to be out of the country at various times. I do have one associate, but she cannot cover all offices. It is mainly my bakersfield and chatsworth office. I pay 50% of production and have excellent staff. For more info please contact me.Thank you.
By Austin L. Miller
Days after state authorities suspended the license of a local dentist who allegedly mistreated a young patient, critics of Dr. Michael Addair Tarver continue to go public with their own stories.
One of those people is Kristina Pate, a dental assistant who worked at Tarver's Polliwog Dental for two months before she was terminated, she said, for speaking out about Tarver's methods.
Pate said every child who came into the practice received nitrous oxide, or laughing gas. She estimates roughly 75 percent of the children seen by Tarver also were given Demerol ???.
Some of the children, she said, were strapped onto boards to keep them still. If Tarver felt they were misbehaving in any way, they were threatened, she said.
Those on Medicaid were treated much differently from those who paid out of pocket, she said.
Pate said those who paid up front or had insurance were treated quickly and sent on their way. Medicaid patients, she said, had to wait longer. Parents of those on Medicaid had to wait about three hours before their child was finished.
