Swansea dentist who defrauded Illinois Medicaid is sentenced in federal court
A Swansea dentist accused of defrauding Illinois Medicaid of thousands of dollars over a period of several years has been sentenced to serve a year and a day in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Yun Sup Kim, 49, of St. Louis, appeared via teleconference in the U.S. District Court of Southern Illinois on Thursday to hear his sentence.
In February, he entered his guilty plea on three counts of health care fraud. In the deal, the prosecution agreed to dismiss a wire fraud charge and nine other counts of healthcare fraud at his sentencing.
Kim admitted that from August 2014 to December 2017, he repeatedly submitted false bills for cavity fillings and surgical tooth extractions to Illinois Medicaid in connection with his dental practice, Emerald Terrace Dental, which is located at 2 Emerald Terrace in Swansea.
Court records listed more than 1,300 patients for whom Kim falsely claimed to have performed eight or more cavity fillings in a single day. In court, Kim conceded that he did not actually numb, drill and fill cavities in those patients’ teeth.
Kim also admitted to billing simple extractions to Medicaid as if they had been surgical extractions, which are more expensive. He also confessed that he had falsified dates of service on numerous occasions to evade Medicaid billing rules for dental sealants.
As part of his plea deal, Kim’s license to practice dentistry in Illinois has been revoked. In three years, he will be eligible to petition the licensing board for reinstatement.
Kim also was ordered to pay $671,845.20 in restitution to Illinois Medicaid and Medicaid-managed care organizations, which he had paid back in full as of Thursday, a release from the court stated.
Though the court-recommended three years of probation and no fine in exchange for Kim’s concessions, U.S. District Judge Staci Yandle sentenced him to serve 12 months and one day in federal prison and another year of supervised release. He must self-surrender to the court by Nov. 13.
In November 2019, Kim was sued by a former Emerald Terrace employee who accused him of making racist comments toward her and propositioning her for sex. The woman says she was retaliated against for denying his advances. It is was not clear via online records Thursday if that case was ongoing.
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