Texas dentist gets 6 years for Medicaid fraud

A Texas dentist convicted of defrauding Medicaid has been sentenced to 70 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $1.6 million in restitution.

James Crow, DDS, of Brownwood was ordered by U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on or before October 26.

In May, following a nearly two-week-long trial, a jury found Dr. Crow guilty on 17 of 20 counts related to a healthcare fraud scheme he ran, according to U.S. Attorney James Jacks of the Northern District of Texas.

The government presented evidence at trial that showed that from January 2004 through December 2007, Dr. Crow filed and caused to be filed Medicaid claims for payment of services that he did not render and for payment of services that were billed with improper billing codes, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Dr. Crow billed Medicaid for numerous resin-based composites restorations (cavity fillings), when in fact, either no such fillings were performed or he instead performed other dental services not reimbursed by Medicaid.

The jury convicted Dr. Crow on two counts of making false statements involving a health care matter and 15 counts of healthcare fraud. Each false statement count carries a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Each of the healthcare fraud counts carries a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.