Manhattan Dentist Charged With $200,000 Fraud

Attorney General Spitzer today announced that a Washington Heights dentist has been charged with stealing more than $200,000 from taxpayers by billing the Medicaid program for dental services provided by unlicensed individuals – including the dental center's office manager who was charged with unlawfully practicing dentistry for more than two years.

According to prosecutors, Dr. Luis Silvestre-Mejia, between July 1, 2000, and February 8, 2003, stole more than $200,000 by submitting hundreds of reimbursement claims to the Medicaid program that falsely stated he had provided such dental services as fillings and cleanings to Medicaid recipients when, in fact, the procedures were unlawfully performed by three employees – including office manager Julio Schewerer – who were not licensed to practice dentistry.

Dr. Silvestre-Mejia, 40, of 35-65 86 Street in Jackson Heights, Queens, was arraigned yesterday afternoon before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice John Cataldo on an eight-count indictment, charging him with one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, three counts of Unauthorized Practice of a Profession, and four counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Schewerer, 47, of 100 Albin Street in Manhattan, was arraigned yesterday before Justice Cataldo on a one-count indictment, charging him with the crime of Unauthorized Practice of a Profession, a Class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison.

Dr. Silvestre-Mejia maintains a dental practice at Thayer Dental, which is located at 4740 Broadway.

The matter will be referred to the state Education Department's Office of the Professionals for a review of Dr. Silvestre-Mejia's dental license.

Special Assistant Attorney General John Fusto, of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit's New York City Regional Office, is prosecuting the case. Assisting in the investigation was Associate Special Auditor Investigator Sandy Licul and Special Investigator Semyon Ginzburg.

The charges against the two defendants are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.