NEWS RELEASE
ELIOT SPITZER
NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY G E N E R A L
MEDICAID FRAUD CONTROL UNIT
CONTACT: KEVIN RYAN FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
212-417-5256 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2004
7 INDIVIDUALS CITED IN NEW YORK CITY DENTAL SWEEP
Phony Dentists Extract Teeth; Medicaid Billed for Treatments to Dead Patients
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today announced the arrest of six individuals – including five dentists
and an office manager – and the conviction of a Bronx man who posed as a dentist as part of a citywide
crackdown on dental fraud involving the Medicaid program.
“The defendants are accused of preying upon our poorest citizens to selfishly enrich themselves,”
said Spitzer. “I am committed to using the full resources of my office to hold accountable health
professionals who defraud the Medicaid program and who jeopardize the safety of patients by allowing
unlicensed or unqualified individuals to treat them.”
Among those arrested were two Bronx dentists who fraudulently billed the Medicaid program for
services they never provided to patients. DR. DAWER NADI is accused of charging taxpayers for having
treated patients who were either dead at the time he claimed to have treated them or were former patients
of another dentist and never seen by NADI. The other Bronx case involves Dr. VINCENT D’ADDIO, who
allowed two unlicensed individuals working in his office to unlawfully perform dental procedures on
patients, including drilling, extractions and cleanings.
Also arrested was DR. JOEL GELLER, the owner of a Manhattan dental center, and his brother and
office manager, HOWARD GELLER. The GELLERS are charged with stealing more than $300,000 by
claiming that another dentist had treated various Medicaid recipients. In fact, as the GELLERS knew, that
dentist had relocated to California and the services were actually performed by Alex Grunberg, a dentist who
had been disqualified from participating in the Medicaid program and barred from providing services to
Medicaid patients.
In Brooklyn, DR. ALEX VOROB is accused of submitting reimbursement claims which falsely
stated that he had treated Medicaid recipients who were affiliated with the New York State Office of Mental
Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD). Under Medicaid regulations, dentists are entitled
to receive an additional $25 per recipient in connection with an initial visit for dental services if the recipient
is an OMRDD client. According to the complaint filed in the case, only eleven of the 869 individuals for
whom DR. VOROB billed as being OMRDD affiliated clients actually were.
Also in Brooklyn, DR. YELENA VINTER is charged with fraudulently billing the Medicaid program
for having filled cavities for eleven recipients when, in fact, no such services were provided.
Lastly, DOUGLAS MARTINEZ, who unlawfully practiced dentistry in a Bronx dental office for
three months, pleaded guilty in October 2004 in Bronx Criminal Court to Attempted Unauthorized Practice
of a Profession for providing services to a Medicaid patient without being licensed to perform such services.
(continued)
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The cases announced today are part of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s
ongoing investigation of New York’s dental industry, which, since 2001, has resulted in criminal charges
against 40 defendants. Thirty-three cases have been completed to date, all resulting in conviction and court-
imposed restitution totaling more than $4 million.
Spitzer thanked the State Department of Health for referring the cases to his office. He noted that
his office has referred the cases to the State Education Department’s Office of the Professions for a review
of the defendants’ dental licenses.
Special Assistant Attorneys General Robert Goldstein, Arlene Osterer, Monica Hickey-Martin, Debra
Glatt and Richard Harrow, Director of the MFCU’s New York City Regional Office, are prosecuting the
cases. Senior Special Auditor Investigator Thomasina Smith, Associate Special Auditor Investigators Sandy
Licul and Christina Truta, Special Auditor Investigators David Verhey and Dipesh Purohit, Senior Special
Investigators Thomas Creelman and Donald Kuhlman, Special Investigators Robert Flynn, Ken Karp,
Lawrence Riccio,Victor Maldonado, Robert Crook and Bernard Kleger assisted in the investigations.
The charges against the Gellers, Nadi, D'Addio, Vorob and Vinter are merely accusations, and the
defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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ADDENDUM
DR. JOEL GELLER, 56, of 5 Airpint Road in Warwick, is the owner of Triboro Dental Center, located at 186 East
123 Street in Manhattan. HOWARD GELLER, 62, of 19 Strathmore Court in Remsenburg, New York, is Triboro's
office manager. On November 3rd, the Gellers were arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court and charged with Grand
Larceny in the Third Degree, a Class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. (NEW YORK COUNTY)
DR. DAWER NADI, 46, of 29 Terramar Drive in Huntington, Long Island, maintains a practice at 2607 Webster
Avenue in the Bronx. On November 18th , Dr. Nadi was arraigned in Bronx Criminal Court and charged with Grand
Larceny in the Second Degree, a Class C felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. (BRONX COUNTY)
DR. VINCENT D'ADDIO, 59, of Narragansett Avenue in the Bronx, maintained a dental practice at 226 East
Fordham Road in the Bronx. On November 30th , Dr. D'Addio was arraigned in Bronx Criminal Court and charged
with two counts of Unauthorized Practice of a Profession, a Class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison.
(BRONX COUNTY).
DR. ALEX VOROB, 48, of 460 Neptune Avenue in Brooklyn, maintains a practice at 432 Myrtle Avenue in
Brooklyn. On November 30th, Dr. Vorob was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court and charged with Grand Larceny
in the Third Degree, a Class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. (KINGS COUNTY)
DR. YELENA VINTER, 38, of 4817 Surf Avenue in Brooklyn, maintains a practice at Millenium Dentistry, PC,
located at 2350 Ocean Avenue in Brooklyn. On November 18th, Dr. Vinter was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court
and charged with one count of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree and two counts of Offering a False Instrument
for Filing in the First Degree, Class E felonies punishable by up to four years in prison. (KINGS COUNTY)
DOUGLAS MARTINEZ, 59, lives at 913-B East Tremont Avenue in the Bronx. The dental office was located at
the same address. Martinez is scheduled to be sentenced on December 15, 2004. (BRONX COUNTY)
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