Three Alaska dentists pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of medical assistance fraud, Alaska Public Radio reported Nov. 14.
Kevin Gottlieb, DDS, Thomas Kovaleski, DDS, and Clay Crossett, DMD, were providers at Southcentral Foundation, a tribal healthcare provider based in Anchorage, Ala. The three dentists were accused of falsely listing Dr. Gottlieb as the provider of hundreds of dental procedures in order to meet requirements that would have kept Dr. Gottlieb accredited as a dentist.
The three dentists were terminated from their roles in 2020 after Southcentral Foundation performed an independent investigation. Prosecutors with the state's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit then filed criminal charges against the dentists in September.
A felony charge for falsifying business records and a separate misdemeanor charge for medical assistance fraud were dropped as part of the plea deal. Prosecutors are seeking a suspended sentence of 100 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine.