Miami-Dade prosecutors drop charges against five employees(four of them Cubans) accused of defrauding insurance of more than a million dollars through dental clinics in Hialeah and Little Havana.
Miami-Dade prosecutors dropped the case the following month, court records show,the news channel reported this MondayLocal 10.
Mercedes Linares, 53 years old; Christi Olson, 47; Leonardo Ramos, 22; Leonel Ravelo, 34, and Ryon Vazquez, 33, were arrested last April on charges that included filing false insurance claims, organized scheme to defraud and criminal use of personal information.
Investigators from the Insurance Fraud Bureau of the Florida Department of Financial Services dubbed the case “The Tooth Fairy Robbery.”
Now, the company targeted, AC Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics (ACPDO), has declared itself the victim of a politically motivated investigation.
Defense attorneys say the prosecution may have been influenced by political contributions made by two people with connections to a separate lawsuit over control of the practice.
“The ACPDO applauds the independence and objectivity of the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office (SAO), which determined in May of this year that – despite clear external pressure – it would not proceed with any additional investigation or charges against the ACPDO and its employees,” reads a company statement.
“The SAO made this thoughtful decision following its own evaluation of information that, when exposed to the light of day, was riddled with numerous material inaccuracies. Inaccuracies that appear to have been provided by interested parties. The ACPDO is more than grateful that real, supported evidence – not political influence – contributed to the correct outcome. “He now looks forward to continuing his efforts to provide the highest quality care to underserved pediatric patients,” the statement added.
Likewise, Devin Galetta, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS), said, when asked about the issue, that his department “is aware of at least one ongoing investigation that is outside our scope, therefore, the Department will reserve its comments for the future so as not to complicate ongoing work on this matter.”
The 5 employees (including the four Cubans) were accused of using identifications of dentists who no longer worked in their clinics to bill insurance and adding unnecessary procedures to collect extra bonuses.
According to the police report, in 2020, a couple sold the shares of their dental clinic, with offices located in Hialeah and the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, to the management company made up of the five involved.
The company later fired the couple and allegedly implemented operations that violated Florida statutes related to non-dentist ownership of dental clinics.
Authorities said the company continued billing insurance companies for procedures using IDs of dentists who no longer worked there.
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