TRENTON Attorney General Anne Milgram and Division of Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced that a dentist from Secaucus pleaded guilty today to defrauding the Medicaid program out of more than $70,000.

According to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza Dagli, Anna Padva-German, 47, of Secaucus, a licensed dentist employed by New Jersey Mobile Dentist P.A. of Colts Neck, pleaded guilty to an accusation that charged her with third degree Medicaid fraud before Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci Jr. in Monmouth County. The charge stems from an ongoing investigation by the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

As a result of the investigation, four dentists employed by New Jersey Mobile Dentist have pleaded guilty thus far, including Padva-German. The Medicaid program allegedly paid New Jersey Mobile Dentist more than $1.3 million to which it was not entitled as a result of fraudulent billing for those four dentists.

In pleading guilty, Padva-German admitted that between Jan. 1, 2003 and March 6, 2009, she willfully received medical assistance payments as a Medicaid provider in an amount greater than that to which she was entitled. The investigation revealed that as a result of the alleged fraudulent billing, Medicaid paid New Jersey Mobile Dentist, which had used Padva-German’s Medicaid provider number, over $200,000 to which it was not entitled. New Jersey Mobile Dentist contracts with individual dentists to provide “mobile” dental services in various nursing homes and assisted living facilities throughout New Jersey.

Judge Mellaci scheduled sentencing for Padva-German for June 25, 2010. As part of her plea, she must pay restitution and a civil penalty totaling $138,731 to the State of New Jersey through the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, which commenced operations in 2009 to investigate fraud, waste and abuse in the Medicaid program.

Sgt. Kathleen Casey, Auditor Kim Geis and Deputy Attorney General Debra A. Conrad are assigned to the investigation. Deputy Attorney General Conrad represented the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the guilty plea hearing.

“These dentists exploited elderly and disabled patients,” said Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Dagli. “Medical professionals are given a tremendous amount of trust, and we will continue to aggressively prosecute those who take advantage of that trust by fraudulently billing Medicaid.”

In September, another dentist employed by New Jersey Mobile Dentist, Marc Wertheim, 45, of Moonachie, pleaded guilty to third-degree Medicaid Fraud. The Medicaid program paid New Jersey Mobile Dentist nearly $750,000 to which it was not entitled as a result of alleged fraudulent billing related to Wertheim.

In July, two other dentists employed by New Jersey Mobile Dentist pleaded guilty. Christopher Lillo, 41, of Toms River, pleaded guilty to third-degree Medicaid fraud, and Joshua Prensky, 33, of Fair Lawn, pleaded guilty to third-degree conspiracy to commit Medicaid fraud. The Medicaid program allegedly paid New Jersey Mobile Dentist more than $300,000 as a result of fraudulent billing related to Lillo, and $100,000 as a result of fraudulent billing for Prensky.

Acting Prosecutor Dagli noted that some important cases have started with anonymous tips. People who are concerned about insurance cheating and have information about a fraud can report it anonymously by calling the toll-free hotline 1-877-55-FRAUD or visiting the Web site www.njinsurancefraud.org. State regulations permit an award to be paid to an eligible person who provides information that leads to an arrest, prosecution and conviction for insurance fraud.

The Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor was established by the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act of 1998. The office is the centralized state agency that investigates and prosecutes both civil and criminal insurance fraud, as well as Medicaid fraud.