Pullman dentist sentenced to jail for Medicaid fraud

A Pullman dentist will serve 90 days in the Latah County Jail after being convicted of intentionally submitting false claims to Idaho Medicaid for dental work he did not provide.

Alfred Fairbanks, 69, was sentenced to five years in prison, but Latah County 2nd District Judge John R. Stegner suspended the prison time and instead handed down a sentence of three months in jail and five years probation. Fairbanks was convicted in January on four counts of felony provider fraud, according to the Idaho Attorney General's Office, which prosecuted the case.

An investigation into Fairbanks' conduct showed 29 of his former patients reportedly did not have the fillings in their teeth that he claimed when filing for reimbursement from Medicaid, according to the attorney general's office. The investigation included examining a total of 43 patients, but the case presented at trial only involved evidence surrounding two patients because of a five-year statute of limitations on the allegations.

A jury in Latah County determined Jan. 28 that Fairbanks intentionally submitted false claims to Medicaid for dental work he did not provide. The false claims were reportedly submitted to Idaho Medicaid between January 2009 and May 2010, according to the attorney general's office.

Fairbanks was initially charged by Latah County Prosecutor William Thompson Jr. in December 2013 with 10 felonies related to the alleged false claims. The case was later handed off to the Idaho Attorney General's Office and its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and six of the felonies were dismissed in December 2014. The case was investigated by the Pullman Police Department, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to the attorney general's office.

Fairbanks was also ordered to pay $100,000 in fines and to perform 200 hours of community service as part of his sentence. He was represented by Boise attorney Scott McKay. Idaho Deputy Attorney General Kendal McDevitt, who is the lead for the state's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, handled the prosecution's case.

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Rudd may be contacted at erudd@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-8465. Follow her on Twitter @elizabeth_rudd.