President Donald Trump granted a full pardon to Alfonso Costa, DMD, a former Pittsburgh dentist who pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud.
Dr. Costa, who had dental offices in Oakland, Pa. and Murrysville, Pa., pleaded guilty to a false billing charge occurring between 1996 and 2001, according to NBC affiliate WPXI. He and his former dental partner Roberto Michienzi, DMD, were charged with fraudulently billing insurance companies for about $44,000 in dental work that was never performed.
Dr. Costa's request for clemency was supported by Ben Carson, MD, the secretary of housing and urban development, and Jerome Bettis, a former Pittsburgh Steelers football player. The dentist took full responsibility for his conduct, served two years of probation, and paid nearly $300,000 in fines and restitution, according to a White House news release.
The presidential pardon, granted Dec. 22, restores any rights lost as a result of the pardoned offense, but doesn't erase or expunge the conviction.