(The Center Square) – Three people in a $6.9 million Medicaid fraud scheme ahve been exposed by a unit of the Texas attorney general.
Christian Agno Aquino, 42, Rene Gaviola, 67, and Ifeanyi Ndubisi Ozoh, 51, were arrested following the probe of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
The defendants are charged with defrauding the Medicaid program through illicit practices committed through the Floss Family Dental Care clinic in Houston, according to a Thursday news release.
Gaviola, operator of Floss Family Dental Care, and his managers Ozoh and Aquino, are accused of fraudulent claims to Medicaid for pediatric dental services that were not provided or were performed by unlicensed individuals. The defendants are also accused of offering illegal kickbacks to marketers and caregivers of Medicaid-insured children.
“The indictment also details how Gaviola laundered Medicaid funds, transferring them from the Floss business bank account to his personal account in transactions exceeding $100,000,” according to the release. “From 2019 to 2021, the dental clinic fraudulently billed Medicaid approximately $6.9 million.”
The investigation was conducted by Sgt. Alfred Paige, Investigative Auditor Daryl Middleton, and Capt. Alexander Chancia of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, in cooperation with the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General.
In the last year, this fraud unit has recovered more than $236 million in settlements and judgments for Texas taxpayers, the release said.
