A Washington dentist whose practice treated many elderly and disabled patients was sentenced September 17 to two years in federal prison for a scheme that took more than $3.4 million from D.C. Medicaid. Steven A. Price, 70, who operated the Washington Smile Center in Northwest Washington, was also ordered to repay $3.4 million to the program, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said. A federal jury convicted him in March on 21 counts, including conspiracy, health care fraud, false statements and wire fraud.
Two years in prison and $3.4 million in restitution
According to the Justice Department, Price received 24 months in prison, to be followed by 36 months of supervised release. The court ordered him to pay $3.4 million in restitution to D.C. Medicaid and entered a criminal forfeiture money judgment against him.
The sentence was far shorter than prosecutors sought. The government had asked for a 108-month prison term, or nine years. U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta, who oversaw the six-week trial that ended in Price’s conviction in March 2026, imposed the two-year term.
Restitution is a court-ordered repayment meant to return money to the victim of a crime, here the District’s Medicaid program. A forfeiture money judgment is a separate penalty that allows the government to collect proceeds of the crime from the defendant’s assets.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said the outcome sent a message. “Fraud against taxpayer‑funded programs will not be ignored, excused, or allowed to persist in the dark,” Pirro said. “Mr. Price is going to prison and is ordered to pay $3.4 million in restitution. The days when individuals could hide behind complex billing schemes to steal from the American taxpayer are over.”
Inside the kit: The false dental bills in this case stopped only after D.C. Medicaid required advance approval for one procedure, a reminder of how much weight prior authorization carries in what a health program pays for. The prior-authorization appeal steps and the medication and cost tracker in The Medicare Cost & Coverage Protection Kit help Medicare households handle that same approval process when a needed service is on the line.
Bills for procedures patients never received
Court papers laid out a scheme that ran from January 2017 through March 2022. Price and his codefendant, dental hygienist Keidi Moore, 40, filed claims with D.C. Medicaid for two services: clinical crown lengthening, a surgical procedure that removes gum and sometimes bone to expose more of a tooth, and space maintainers, devices used to hold open the gap left by a lost tooth. In fact, prosecutors said, the patients had not received the procedures or devices.
The false claims were slipped in alongside procedures performed during real patient visits, which made them harder to spot. D.C. Medicaid paid more than $3.4 million for the fraudulent claims. The numbers attached to some patients were implausible on their face. In some instances, patients were alleged to have received more than 30 crown lengthening procedures and more than 20 space maintainers during the period.
The billing ended when the program changed its rules. According to prosecutors, as soon as D.C. Medicaid put in a pre-authorization requirement for clinical crown lengthening, the false billing for both types of claims stopped.
Pre-authorization, also called prior authorization, requires a provider to get a program’s approval before performing a covered service, giving reviewers a chance to check whether the treatment is needed before any money goes out. It is often criticized by patients and doctors as a source of delays and denials. In this case, prosecutors said, the added check was enough to shut down years of false claims almost immediately.
Elderly and disabled patients at the center of the case
Prosecutors said Price and Moore treated many elderly and disabled patients. That detail matters. Older and disabled patients can have more difficulty reviewing detailed benefit statements and may not recognize the names of procedures listed in their records. A bill for a crown lengthening that never happened can sit unnoticed in a file for years.
Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General said the sentencing “underscores our unwavering commitment to serving the American people, safeguarding taxpayer money, and preserving the integrity of the federal health care programs that support them.” She added that “such schemes waste public funds and undermine trust in the Medicaid program.”
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the HHS Office of Inspector General and the D.C. Office of the Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The District’s Department of Health Care Finance, through its Division of Program Integrity, referred the matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Diane Lucas and Sarah Ranney prosecuted the case, number 23-cr-122. FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox and Matthew Wilcoxson, interim inspector general for the District, joined in the announcement.
A codefendant awaits sentencing
Moore was found guilty by the same jury. She is scheduled to be sentenced on October 23, 2026, according to the Justice Department. The sentencing came on the same day the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced a guilty plea by a Maryland nurse in a separate $14 million D.C. Medicaid scheme involving youth mental health services.
For older Americans, the case carries a practical lesson about dental coverage and billing. Original Medicare does not cover most routine dental care, so many seniors with limited incomes rely on Medicaid, Medicare Advantage dental benefits or out-of-pocket payment. Whatever the payer, the explanation of benefits or claims statement that follows a visit lists each procedure billed. A line item for a service that was never performed, or the same procedure billed again and again, is a warning sign worth raising with the plan.
Family members who help an older relative manage appointments can play a role by keeping a simple log of visits and comparing it with those statements. Suspected fraud involving Medicare or Medicaid can be reported to the HHS-OIG hotline at 1-800-HHS-TIPS. In the District, Medicaid fraud can also be reported to the D.C. Office of the Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Keeping track of what was actually done at each visit
This scheme lasted five years because false charges sat quietly beside real ones on the same visit. Most families have no running record that would let them spot a procedure that never happened, and no plan for pushing back when a plan denies or questions a service that did.
The Medicare Cost & Coverage Protection Kit includes a medication and cost tracker for logging each visit, service and charge, the prior-authorization appeal steps for contesting a coverage decision, and 51 state Medicare cost-help packs for finding help with out-of-pocket costs.
Build that visit-by-visit record with The Medicare Cost & Coverage Protection Kit.
This article was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed against the linked official sources.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
