Southington Dentist Charged With Medicaid Fraud

Aug. 12--SOUTHINGTON -- The owner of a Southington dental practice is facing fraud and larceny charges after authorities said he billed Medicaid for more expensive procedures than were actually performed or necessary or for procedures that were never performed at all.

Thomas DeRienzo, 58, of Southbury, was charged with first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community, second-degree vendor fraud and insurance fraud for the false claims to the publicly-funded health care program for low-income individuals, which the chief state's attorney's office in Rocky Hill said totaled $7,213.92.

DeRienzo is the owner of Plantsville Family Dental on Cornerstone Court, according to Mark Dupuis, a spokesman for the state's attorney's office.

According to the warrant for his arrest, DeRienzo submitted 282 Medicaid claims between 2010 and 2014 that "were either not rendered at all or were 'uncoded,' which means they were assigned an incorrect billing code in order to increase the allowable payment."

Another 67 claims were not documented in medical records, while dental experts reviewed an additional 193 claims and found them to be "medically unnecessary," Dupuis said.

DeRienzo was released on a $10,000 non-surety bond and is due in Hartford Superior Court on the charges on Aug. 13. If convicted on all charges, DeRienzo could face a maximum of 35 years in prison.

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