Dentist Sentenced for Medicaid Fraud

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Hawaii Attorney General David Louie
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Hawaii Attorney General David Louie

REPORT FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL– Joseph Perrino, DDS, formerly of Honolulu, will pay $35,700 in restitution and fines, and will perform 500 hours of community service for making false claims to the State Medicaid program and Hawaii Dental Service (HDS).  The Honorable Richard K. Perkins, Judge First Circuit Court, sentenced Perrino this morning.  Judge Perkins rejected Perrino’s request to defer his plea and have his record expunged.  Instead, Judge Perkins found Perrino guilty and imposed the sentence.

Perrino owned and operated a clinic in Waianae for fifteen years.  He sold the practice in January of 2011 after learning of the investigation into his fraudulent activities.  The fraud and theft charges stemmed from a scheme by Perrino whereby he submitted claims for dental restorations but either failed to perform those restorations, or actually provided a service far less involved and less costly than a restoration.  Restorations are essentially fillings where amalgam or resin is used to restore the function, integrity, and morphology of missing tooth structure such as that which results from a cavity or other dental condition. 

Perrino’s fraudulent claims were discovered during a routine review by the MedQuest Division of the Department of Human Services and a subsequent peer review by HDS who had independent dentists review Perrino’s claims.  HDS will receive $2,500 for the fraudulent claims Perrino submitted to it.  Perrino can no longer participate in Medicaid and with HDS.  

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Under the agreement with the State, Perrino is to pay his fine ($10,000), and restitution ($25,700) by the close of Court business today.  His community service is to commence immediately. 

Attorney General David M. Louie said “I am very pleased with Judge Perkins’ ruling and the sentence that was imposed.  This case demonstrates that the state will aggressively investigate and prosecute any individual committing fraud.”  


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31 COMMENTS

  1. I'm sorry to hear that, he really was a good dentist and I will miss him. I heard that he hired a good lawyer from Mypafamilylawyer, I wonder if he defends him well.

  2. I'm sure that he deserved his sentence because fraud is a very serious crime. Although I can bet that he would have got a much easier sentence if he would have chosen a lawyer from coloradolawyer.net/.

  3. All I can say is that I'm sorry for him, although I find fraud a very serious crime. The best thing I can do is to advise him to get himself a lawyer from Matthewslaw.com/, I heard they are the best in town.

  4. Too bad that he was sentenced because he was a good dentist. Now I will have to find another dentist in Bayou City. It's a long way to drive but hopefully I will find a good one.

  5. Hopefully, the institute must provide the best job to all of them. I must take your help if in future in nee to take medical care.

  6. This is really a sad news for all but the the punishment has been given that's really good for all. Actually we know all the how much important it is because it's related of health and that's why this sort of fraud is not accepted to all. So I hope that everybody will learn from this for sure. Keep on:)

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