Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry filed a lawsuit against a local dental group for allegedly scamming Medicare patients.
The lawsuit alleges that Langhorne, Pa.-based Infinity Dental Management, which does business under the name Alpha Dental Excellence, violated the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law by misleading patients into believing Medicare would cover certain dental services that were not actually covered. The practice also allegedly misled patients to obtain loans and failed to notify patients of consumer rights and protections.
The lawsuit aims to ban the practice from offering dental and credit services in the state and seeks payment for consumer restitution and civil penalties.
The Department of State's Prosecution Division also filed administrative charges against Arpan Patel, DMD, who owns the practice. The charges cite cases where patients were misled about Medicare coverage and cases in which records were not provided to patients upon request.
The administrative case could result in actions against Dr. Patel's dental license and civil penalties, according to a Sept. 7 news release.
Becker's has contacted Alpha Dental Excellence for comment and will update this story if more information becomes available.