Steven A. Price, 69, of the District of Columbia, and Keidi C. Moore, 39, of Temple Hills, Maryland, were found guilty today in U.S. District Court of conspiring to defraud D.C. Medicaid of $4 million, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
The jury deliberated for more than a week before finding Price and Moore guilty of conspiracy, health care fraud, false statements, and wire fraud. Judge Amit P. Mehta scheduled sentencing for June 29 and June 30, 2026.
Price is a dentist who operates the Washington Smile Center in Northwest Washington. Moore was employed at the Washington Smile Center as a dental hygienist.
“Price and Moore stole $4 million from a program designed to help people in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “My office is intent on cutting fraud, waste, and abuse by prosecuting those—like Price and Moore—who steal from government programs to line their own pockets.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, beginning in January 2017 and continuing through March 2022, Price and Moore conspired to defraud D.C. Medicaid by submitting repeated claims for reimbursement for clinical crown lengthening (a surgical procedure) and space maintainers (a dental device used primarily for children) for services that were not actually performed.
The defendants submitted so many repeated claims that in some instances, patients were alleged to have been provided more than 30 clinical crown lengthening procedures and more than 20 space maintainers over the course of only a few years. In total, their false claims caused more than $4 million to be paid out from D.C. Medicaid.
Wire fraud charges carry a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison. The conspiracy and health care fraud charges carry a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison, and the charge for false statements relating to a health care matter carry a statutory maximum of five years. The charges also carry potential financial penalties. The maximum statutory sentence for federal offenses is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. The sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Joining in the announcement was FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office, and Daniel W. Lucas Inspector General for the District of Columbia.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and the District of Columbia Office of Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Diane Lucas and Sarah Ranney, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Carlos Jiminez Guzman.
