|
 W. Scott Harrington, who pleaded guilty to fraudulently billing the
Medicaid federal healthcare program, also received two years'
probation. Prosecutors had been seeking up to 18 months in prison
for Harrington improperly billing for services.
He was fined $20,000 and ordered to pay about $30,000 in
restitution, according to a courtroom deputy for the U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
Health officials shut down his two Tulsa-area dental clinics in 2013
and he surrendered his license in 2014 after the Oklahoma Dental
Board cited Harrington for health and safety violations that put his
patients at risk.
As many as 7,000 of his patients could have been exposed to viruses
because of improper sterilization and rusty surgical tools, state
and Tulsa health officials have said.
Of the more than 4,000 of Harrington's patients whose blood was
tested, several dozens of them had hepatitis C and as many as three
had HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS, officials said.
[to top of second column] |
One person contracted hepatitis C at one of Harrington's clinics,
they said.
(Reporting by Michael Hirtzer in Chicago; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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