12 charged for alleged practice scheme to defraud U.S. agencies

A dozen Pennsylvania dentists, practice owners, and employees were charged with numerous crimes for allegedly operating a scheme that attempted to defraud Medicaid, U.S. immigration authorities, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to a justice department press release.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) Eastern District of Pennsylvania charged multiple dental practice owners and alleged co-conspirators with healthcare and visa fraud, racketeering, money laundering, and more. The defendants are part of the Savani Group, a multistate network of 50 dental practices located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Iowa, and South Carolina.

Charges were levied against Savani Group associates and brothers Drs. Bhaskar Savani and Niranjan Savani, who are both licensed dentists. Another brother, Arun Savani, handled the finances for the Savani Group businesses, which also included several companies focused on research and development.

The siblings, along with nine others, purportedly engaged in a scheme to defraud multiple U.S. agencies and to launder the fraudulent profits, according to the DOJ press release dated January 25. Between 2009 and 2022, they reportedly amassed profits of about $316 million, according to a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the brothers are accused of pilfering more than $4 million to cover personal expenses, including college tuition for their children, tax payments on their homes, and a vacation home in Hawaii. The Savani Group businesses reportedly required uncredentialed dentists working at their companies to attest that other licensed providers had performed treatments that were billed to Medicaid, according to the news story.

On January 18, a U.S. grand jury indicted the following 12 individuals:

• The three Savani brothers mentioned above: Drs. Bhaskar Savani, Niranjan Savani, and Arun Savani
• Sunhil Philip, an independent accountant in Pennsylvania, who handled the accounting for the Savani Group
• Dr. Amen Dhyllon, a licensed dentist in Pennsylvania, who worked for the Savani Group
• Aleksandra Radomiak, a Savani dental practice manager in Pennsylvania
• Dr. Jon Julian, a licensed dentist in South Carolina, who worked for the Savani Group
• Five individuals reportedly involved in office roles: Vivek Savani, Bharatkumar Parasana, Hiteshkumar Goyani, Piyusha Patel, and Susan Malpartida

The DOJ charged the brothers, Philip, and Dhyllon with being part of a racketeer influenced corrupt organization (RICO) conspiracy, according to the DOJ release. These defendants reportedly engaged in a scheme in which they used nominee owners of paper-only dental practices to obtain and continue to profit from Medicaid contracts after managed care companies ended the Savani Group dental practices' contracts in Pennsylvania with the U.S. insurance program for low-income individuals. If convicted, they face a maximum of 20 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy.

Additionally, Julian, Bhaskar Savani, and Niranjan Savani reportedly conspired to place adulterated and misbranded dental devices in U.S. commerce. The DOJ further alleged that Savani, Parasana, Goyani, and Patel worked for the group's H-1B visa program allegedly under the guise of serving in specialty jobs for the Savani Group but actually performed office support roles for the Savanis' dental practices, according to the release.

Finally, Malpartida, who worked in an office support position, allegedly obstructed the investigation when she made false statements about a Savani Group employee's job responsibilities, according to the DOJ.