State Files False Claims Act Lawsuit against Fairfield Dentist

Press Releases

Joint Release of the Attorney General and Department of Social Services header

09/20/2017

State Files False Claims Act Lawsuit against Fairfield Dentist

Attorney General George Jepsen and state Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby today announced that the state has filed a False Claims Act lawsuit against a Fairfield dentist alleging that he engaged in a long-term, pervasive scheme to defraud the state's Medicaid program.

Dr. Aram Agadjanian, also known as Aram Yuri Agadzanov, a resident of Fairfield, is a licensed dentist and was enrolled as a dental provider in the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program (CMAP) – the state's Medicaid program – from May 2009 to May 2015.

Dr. Agadjanian primarily saw indigent and elderly Medicaid patients who were residents at assisted living facilities in Connecticut. The state's complaint alleges that, from April 2014 to April 2015, Dr. Agadjanian billed the state's Medicaid program more than $900,000 for dental services allegedly provided to CMAP recipients, but those services were never actually performed. The state alleges that Dr. Agadjanian billed for dental services including multi-surface tooth restorations, and for repairs to dentures and for sets of dentures that were never provided to his patients.

The state further alleges that Dr. Agadjanian submitted claims for conflicting dental procedures that could not have been provided to his patients, such as claims for services performed on partial dentures for the same teeth for which cavities were purportedly filled and billed.

DSS, the administering agency for CMAP, has terminated Dr. Agadjanian's provider agreement.

"The Connecticut False Claims Act gives my office the authority to seek damages and other relief from medical providers and others who defraud the Medicaid program by submitting false claims for reimbursements," Attorney General Jepsen said. "This dentist's conduct is particularly egregious as he preyed on some of our most vulnerable Medicaid population. Through our partnership with the DSS, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and other law enforcement agencies, we will work to hold accountable those who set out to defraud state and federal healthcare programs. This lawsuit will seek to recover damages incurred by the state's Medicaid program and to deter others from defrauding taxpayer funded programs in the future."

"This reprehensible situation is the polar opposite of the high-quality dental care provided through Connecticut Medicaid overall," Commissioner Bremby said. "Taking strong action against an outlier like this is necessary to protect patients and taxpayers alike, and I join Attorney General Jepsen in commending our state and federal partners involved in anti-fraud enforcement. Anyone who victimizes our Medicaid members and violates the public trust needs to be held accountable."

Today's action is part of a larger effort by the State of Connecticut's Interagency Fraud Task Force, which was created in July 2013 to wage a coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute healthcare fraud directed at state healthcare and human service programs. The task force includes a number of Connecticut agencies and works with federal counterparts in the U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General – Office of Investigations. For more information, please visit www.fightfraud.ct.gov.

Anyone with knowledge of suspected fraud or abuse in the public healthcare system is asked to contact the Attorney General’s Antitrust and Government Program Fraud Department at 860-808-5040 or by email at ag.fraud@ct.gov; the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney at 860-258-5986 or by email at conndcj@ct.gov; or the Department of Social Services fraud reporting hotline at 1-800-842-2155, online at www.ct.gov/dss/reportingfraud, or by email to providerfraud.dss@ct.gov.

Forensic Fraud Examiner Larry Marini, Legal Investigator Thomas Martin and Assistant Attorney General Michael Cole, chief of the Antitrust and Government Program Fraud Department, are assisting the Attorney General with this matter.

Please click here to view a copy of the complaint.