W.Va. dentist pleads guilty to Medicaid fraud

A dentist from Charleston, WV, has pleaded guilty to Medicaid fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.

Antoine Skaff, DDS, 58, admitted to billing West Virginia Medicaid and Medicaid managed care organizations for dental procedures he did not perform, falsely inflating or upcoding his billings, and double billing for more than five years. He upcoded billings by claiming he performed more complex procedures than he actually had, such as extractions of impacted teeth instead of simple extractions.

Dr. Skaff could be sentenced to up to 10 years in federal prison in November 2017. He has also agreed to pay restitution of more than $738,000 and an additional $2.2 million in a civil settlement. Dr. Skaff will also be excluded from Medicare and Medicaid programs for 13 years, according to the U.S. attorney's office.