Two Brooklyn dental providers were hit with a lawsuit from the Mamdani administration after a city investigation found they were allegedly exploiting and driving patients into medical debt.
The lawsuit charges New York Family Dentistry and Canarsie Family Dentistry with what the administration called “appalling violations” of New York City’s Consumer Protection Law, which prohibits false advertising and improper debt collection. In the lawsuit, the city accused the firms of misrepresenting pricing and insurance coverage, pressuring them into unnecessary procedures, and signing them up for high-interest loans without their consent.
The city investigation, conducted by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), found that the dental offices were specifically taking advantage of southeast Brooklyn’s predominantly Black community, targeting the elderly, those with emergency dental needs, and New Yorkers with low incomes or on public assistance.
City Hall is seeking to ban the two dental providers from practicing dentistry and get the scammed patients their money back, as well as additional payment for damages. The practice is liable for up to $3,500 in penalties for each instance it violated the city’s Consumer Protection statute, which the DCWP estimates is over 300 times, including its deceptive signage and advertising, each time it refused to allow patients to use their insurance and each time it misrepresented payment obligations, alongside other Consumer Protection Law violations.
“No one in pain should be treated like a payday,” said DCWP Commissioner Sam Levine. “When dental providers exploit New Yorkers who desperately need care, New York City will halt their predatory practices and hold them accountable. The era of ripping off our most vulnerable is behind us.”
The dental practices did not respond to amNewYork’s request for comment. The group has at least four offices, including Canarsie Cosmetic Family Dental, Avenue L Family Dental and Flatlands Family Dental.
One of the dental offices DCWP investigated over complaints of deceptive payment and forcing people into medical debt.Photo via Google Maps
The dental offices would lure patients who needed emergency care or were elderly into dentist chairs with promises of a $99 visit. They would allegedly tell them that additional treatments were required and require an upfront payment after dentists had begun the procedure, the suit claims.
Since the majority of those they scammed were on Medicaid or Medicare and could not pay high upfront costs, the lawsuit alleges, the dentists would push them to apply for third-party medical payment products, including medical credit cards, and sometimes even sign people up for loans with interest rates as high as 26.99% without their consent or knowledge.
The procedures dentists frequently performed did not go well, with patients complaining they weren’t properly completed or that they were unnecessary, the suit says. And, even though they advertise that “most” insurance plans are accepted, they don’t actually submit claims to insurers and regularly prevent consumers from utilizing their paid-for insurance benefits.
The DCWP said it began its investigation last autumn after receiving “numerous alarming complaints about deceptive and unconscionable conduct” from people who visited the offices. Alongside the complaints DCWP received, the Legal Aid Society referred a few complaints to the agency and dozens were submitted to the Better Business Bureau.
The Flatlands Family Dental location.Photo via City of New York et al. v. Koorash Shamtoub et al
One elderly patient who went to Canarsie Family Dentistry for a partial denture installation told DCWP that a dentist said she needed additional treatment requiring the extraction of all her remaining teeth. Despite being a Medicare and Medicaid recipient, she was informed that she needed to take out a loan to pay for the services.
She paid approximately $1,000 out of pocket because she didn’t think she had a choice, the department alleges. The dentist’s office then charged an additional $5,000 to a medical credit card opened in her name before the services were completed, and she was told she had to pay an additional $10,000 at subsequent appointments.
“A year later, the services for which the patient was charged have still not been completed, while she suffers declining physical health and is unable to eat solid food,” DCWP said.
New Yorkers who feel they may have been a victim of these dental offices can report their experience to DCWP’s portal at nyc.gov/consumers. Brooklyn Council Member Mercedes Narcisse (D-Canarsie) urged anyone in her district who feels they’ve been scammed by the dentists to reach out to her office for help.
“No senior should walk into a dental office in pain and leave with a loan they never agreed to,” said Narcisse. “We need to keep cracking down on scams and hold accountable anyone who preys on vulnerable New Yorkers.”