AG: Langhorne-based dentist swindled elderly patrients. What you need to know

The Pennsylvania Attorney General is suing a Langhorne-based dental clinic alleging predatory lending that targeted elderly patients and swindled them out of more than $500,000.

The lawsuit alleges Infinity Dental Management knowingly used Medicare as a prop in the scheme to defraud countless patients.

"This business lured older Pennsylvanians into their office with free dinner events, lied to them about whether their insurance would cover their care, and then enticed them to take out loans without notifying them of the specific terms and conditions,” Attorney General Michelle Henry said in statement. "Patients who needed care suddenly found themselves saddled with tens of thousands of dollars of debt they could not afford."

Infinity Dental Management allegedly used network of lies in scheming the elderly

The attorney general alleges Infinity Dental Management managing member Arpan Nalin Patel and employee Cheryl Snyder preyed on elderly patients who needed dental procedures by promising that Medicare would reimburse them funds.

Infinity Dental Management also operates as Alpha Dental Services. The attorney general alleges that Patel also operates Infinity Dental Staffing, which is named in the suit as well.

The lawsuit alleges defendants would promise Medicare coverage, only to come back to the client after the procedure was complete to inform them that Medicare denied their claim and they would have to pay for the dental work either out of pocket or through a loan.

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Patel and Snyder, the government alleges, assisted patients by preparing and submitting patients’ financing applications, and charged patients an extra 5% fee above the standard cash price on the total cost of services for financing assistance.

The lawsuit lists Snyder as a treatment coordinator who was instrumental in the scheme, noting that Snyder had "authored, approved, endorsed, formulated, ratified, directed, controlled, or participated" in the plot.

From Jan. 1, 2015, until Aug. 9, 2022, Patel and Snyder collected an estimated $509,774.37 in extra financing fees, attached to services billed by defendants to patients in excess of $10 million total.

"Defendants have also misled patients about the cost of services. In at least one instance, defendants misrepresented the cost of dentures, and convinced a patient to take out financing to pay for the total cost of the services," read a portion of the lawsuit. "Midway through the treatment, however, defendants presented the patient with an additional bill they now said would have to be paid in order to complete services."

Infinity Dental Management charged with two counts, AG looking for more victims

Alpha Dental Management, Patel and Snyder are charged with one count of violating the unfair trade practices and consumer protection law.

They have also been charged with one count of violating the credit services act.

In seeking redress, the attorney general stopped short of calling for Patel's license. Instead, the lawsuit urges that Alpha Dental Management, Patel and Snyder be bared from offering any future financial services related to dental procedures; that restitution is paid to Alpha Dental Management's affected clients; and that a civil penalty is enforced that will cause each to pay up to $1,000 for each violation, which will increase to $3,000 for each violation involving a victim age 60 or older.

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Henry is requesting that any client of Alpha Dental Management to contact the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office at www.attorneygeneral.gov, call 1-877-888-4877, or email healthcare@attorneygeneral.gov.

"This lawsuit seeks to recover hundreds of thousands in ill-gotten gains as well as impose civil penalties to the full extent of the law," Henry said. "We are also asking anyone else who fell victim to this scheme to contact our office."

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Infinity Dental Management sued in alleged $10M Medicare scam