This Month in Corruption: Improper Billing, Double Dipping, Disability Faking, etc.

A Dream Most Improper.  On September 4, announcements came from the offices of the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Attorney General that Dental Dreams, a national dental chain with locations in Massachusetts, had agreed to pay $1.375 million to resolve allegations that it improperly billed the Massachusetts Medicaid program, known as MassHealth, for unnecessary and unjustifiable dental procedures.

"Dental Dreams enriched itself at taxpayer expense by improperly billing Medicaid," said Acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb.  "We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that federal and state health care dollars are spent properly."

Dental Dreams "took advantage of a vulnerable patient population when it submitted claims to MassHealth for medically unnecessary and unreasonable dental procedures," said Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division.  "Today's settlement underscores the FBI's commitment to investigate health care providers who overbill federal and private health insurance programs to maximize profits.  We urge anyone with information regarding overbilling practices to contact us."

A Different Kind of Vacation for Police Officer.  On September 7, a former lieutenant with the Quincy Police Department was sentenced in federal court in Boston after a jury found him guilty of collecting double pay in 2015.

According to the Office of Acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb, Thomas Corliss, age 52, was sentenced  by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to one year and one day in prison and one year of supervised release  In June, 2017, Corliss was convicted following an eight-day jury trial of 10 counts of mail fraud and one count of fraud involving federal funds.

A press release from Weinreb's office states that an internal investigation  by the Quincy Police Department revealed that Corliss had "double dipped," or collected double pay for working multiple details and/or police shifts that overlapped on multiple occasions in 2015.

While on vacation in the Bahamas and on Martha's Vineyard in 2015, the release states, Corliss left himself on the daily roster rather than using vacation time.

In total, Corliss defrauded the Quincy Police Department (and, by extension, the taxpayers of Quincy) of more than $8,000, according to Weinreb.

A 'Disabled' Officer Quite Able in Business. On September 8, Richard A. Mariani, age 76, a resident of Dennis and a former transportation security officer at the Barnstable Municipal Airport, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in obtaining federal employee compensation, according to the Office of Acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb. 

U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelly sentenced Mariani on that day to six months of probation and ordered him to pay $38,052 in restitution to the federal Department of Labor.

Here's how Weinreb's office described the case against Mariani:

"From February, 2002, to February, 2011, Mariani was employed as a transportation security officer at the Barnstable Municipal Airport.  After a workplace injury in 2011 that he claimed rendered him unable to work and imposed severe limitations on physical activities, Mariani began collecting workers' compensation benefits.  However, in August, 2015, Mariani began providing lawn irrigation services to various clients who paid him in cash for his work.  In doing so, Mariani was engaged in many of the physical activities he previously claimed to be unable to do.  In addition, he lied on a form to the U.S. Department of Labor stating that he did not earn any income other than his disability benefits.  For August, 2015, to August, 2016, Mariani fraudulently received $38,052 in federal benefits."

A Shady Transaction at Social Security.  On September 29, Julio Klapper, age 40, a resident of Worcester and a former Social Security Administration (SSA) employee, was sentenced in federal court, Boston, to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution of $70,337 and forfeiture of $17,800, according to the office of Acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb.  Klapper had pleaded guilty in June, 2017, to one count of bribery "for accepting a payment for submitting a fraudulent claim for payment to SSA on behalf of a beneficiary," Weinreb's press release stated.

The press release explained that: "Between Aug. 30, 2016, and Sept. 27, 2016, Klapper used his position with SSA to submit a request for release of Supplemental Security Income Disabled Child (SSIDC) funds by falsely claiming that the person representing the child was purchasing a car for the benefit of the SSIDC beneficiary, even though Klapper knew that the child's representative was not intending to purchase a car with the SSIDC funds.  Klapper provided false documentation to the SSA in support of the submitted claim.  In exchange for Klapper's submission of the false claim and documentation, Klapper received $2,000 from the child's representative."