Dentist arrested for Medicaid fraud

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Attorney General Troy King announced Wednesday the arrest of an Alabama dentist on charges of Medicaid fraud and first-degree theft of property.

Dr. Robert Pierre Antoine Louis, of Spanish Fort, was arrested this morning at the Attorney General's Office in Montgomery by agents of the Alabama Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, a division of that Office.

Louis, 56, operates dental practices in Evergreen and Fort Deposit. The Attorney General's Office alleges that, in October and November of 2008, Louis approached the administrators of seven public schools in Butler, Conecuh and Lowndes counties and offered free dental screenings for their students. Louis subsequently billed the Alabama Medicaid Agency for dental procedures on 221 students that were not performed at the screenings and was paid $14,335 by the Medicaid Agency.

"It is more important than ever, in these times of scarce resources, to protect Medicaid funds from fraud and abuse," said Attorney General King. "My office is committed to aggressively investigate and prosecute where evidence indicates wrongdoing."

Louis was arrested on warrants charging Medicaid fraud, a class C felony, and first-degree theft of property by deception, a class B felony. He was transported to the Montgomery County Detention Facility under a $30,000 bond. If convicted, he faces penalties of one to 10 years imprisonment for the Class C felony and two to 20 years imprisonment for the class B felony.

The case was investigated by Special Agent Timothy Kornegay of the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and is being prosecuted by the Unit's director, Assistant Attorney General Bruce Lieberman.