Two brothers pleaded guilty Friday in federal court after admitting using their father’s dentistry to bill Medicaid for $365,000 from 2015 to October 2017 for surgeries that never happened.
Trystan Arch, 36, of DeMotte, and Justyn Arch, 39, of Valparaiso, both admitted in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Indiana to healthcare fraud and filing a false tax return, records show.
At the time, both men were office managers at Arch Complete Family Dentistry’s Chesterton and Crown Point offices, respectively. A Knox location was also briefly open.
Their father, the late Dr. Joseph Arch Sr., was president of the business at the time until his death on Oct. 23, 2017.
A sentencing date was not immediately available.
Authorities allege the money was deposited into the business’ bank account and partially withdrawn by the men.
The brothers will have to repay nearly $120,000 to the Indiana Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and $63,000 in additional restitution to the IRS.
The duo created a scheme to bill Medicaid for osseous surgeries, a painful procedure dealing with tooth removal and preparation of the area due to gum disease, that were never performed on patients. Medicaid reimburses authorized providers like Arch Complete Family Dentistry between $500 and $1,000 per procedure, according to the grand jury indictment.
Post-Tribune archives contributed.