Virginia dentist faces 10-years jail time for $780K insurance scam

The dentist defrauded Medicaid and several private insurers for hundreds of thousands of dollars

Virginia dentist faces 10-years jail time for $780K insurance scam

Life & Health

By Ryan Smith

A Virginia dentist has pleaded guilty to scamming nearly $800,000 from Medicaid and insurers.

Maryam E. Zarei of Glen Allen, Va., owned and operated Atlee Station Family Dentistry. Prosecutors said that between 2013 and 2016, Zarei billed Medicaid and a number of insurers for services she never performed.

Zarei defrauded Medicaid, Delta Dental, Aetna, Met Life and U.S. Healthcare, according to a report by local news affiliate WRIC. She sometimes billed the insurers for services never performed; in some cases, she wasn’t even in the country when she said the procedures occurred.

In other cases, she billed insurers more for services than was justified. She also billed for services performed after patients’ insurance had expired, then falsified bills to reflect that the procedures had happened earlier than they did, prosecutors said.

All told, Zarei scammed about $783,000 from the insurers, according to WRIC. She pleaded guilty to one count of healthcare fraud.

Zarei will be sentenced in March. She faces up to 10 years in prison.


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