California dentist, staff face fraud charges

Accused allegedly defrauded Medi-Cal program of nearly $900,000

A Southern California dentist and five of his employees have been charged with defrauding the state’s Medi-Cal program of nearly $900,000.

Husam Aldairi, D.D.S.; Rawaa Attar; Lilyan Krikorian; Inci Narin; Laith Alani and Fadi Shammas face charges of conspiracy to commit a crime and Medi-Cal fraud, both felonies, according to a news release from California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Dr. Aldairi’s clinics contracted with Borrego Community Health Foundation, a federally qualified health center that serves Medi-Cal patients, to provide dental services to underserved populations and communities. He was entitled to reimbursement for each patient visit, rather than for the specific services performed, according to the release.

However, it is alleged Dr. Aldairi fraudulently billed for services that were either not rendered or not rendered over multiple days, as was claimed to maximize profit from Medi-Cal reimbursements, the release stated. He and his employees allegedly billed more than $847,000 fraudulently between 2016 and 2020.