Dr. Richard Malouf has won a hearing in front of the Texas Supreme Court in his case against the state for allegedly defrauding Medicaid of millions of dollars. The review results from an appeal after a state district court found Malouf liable to pay $16.5 million in 2020.
Malouf was the former owner of All Smiles Dental Center, which had dozens of locations and provided dentistry and orthodontics to Medicaid patients in North Texas for years. His legal troubles began after then-Attorney General Greg Abbott sued Malouf in 2010 for Medicaid fraud. Court documents allege that over three years, Malouf submitted forms saying he provided services to Medicaid recipients even though other dentists in the practice performed the services.
The state’s case alleges that Malouf failed to denote the proper provider in around 1,800 Medicaid claims, putting himself as the dentist when other providers did the work. Two private citizens brought the case that the Supreme Court is hearing on behalf of the government. The state of Texas encourages those with knowledge of alleged fraud to be whistleblowers, allowing them to receive up to 30 percent of the funds recovered from the ruling.