Tulsa Dentist Pleads Guilty To Medicaid Fraud, Waives Right To Jury Trial

A former Tulsa dentist admitted committing money laundering. Wednesday in federal court, Dr. Scott Harrington pleaded guilty.

Monday he was federally charged with Medicare fraud.

"The doctor was the one that was authorized to administer and bill for it. and other people were actually doing the administering the anesthesia so it was improper for him to be billing for it as if he did it," said U.S. Attorney Mark Green.

A News on 6 camera wasn't allowed in the courtroom, but during Harrison's federal court plea hearing he told the judge he was guilty and waived his right to a jury trial.

The U.S. attorney says the charge stems from fraudulent billing  between January and June of 2012. Harrington admits depositing nearly $15,300 into his personal account and later transferring $15,000 of that to his dentist office account.

In a statement, Harrington's attorney Dan Webber says:

"Scott has been cooperating with federal and state authorities regarding his Medicaid billing for over two years and has accepted responsibility for his conduct."

A couple of years ago, Harrington was accused of exposing patients to hepatitis and HIV. He's since given up his dental license. This new charge is not connected.

Despite this new charge, the U.S. attorney says it's not clear if Harrington’s previous legal trouble played a role in discovering the fraud.

"It's not uncommon to have health fraud investigation and prosecutions but do they come to light everyday no. But regularly, would this have come to light anyway, it would be only speculation."

The judge will sentence Harrington July 14. He faces up to 10 years in prison and will have to pay the combined $29,993 he got through fraudulent billing.