A group of Southern Californian dental practices, under West Coast Dental Administrative Services LLC (formerly West Coast Dental Services Inc.) has agreed to pay $6.3M to avoid regulatory breaches.
It is alleged by the Department of Justice that the owners and the practices knowingly violated “the False Claims Act in connection with seven improper loans that West Coast Dental Services Inc. (West Coast Dental) and affiliated dental offices received under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).”
Drs. Soleyman Cohen-Sedgh, Farid Pakravan, and Farhad Manavi have paid the fee of $6.3 million to ward off further action by the government regulator.
“Companies such as these that depleted crucial pandemic-assistance funding will be held accountable under the False Claims Act,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California.
Southern Californian dental practices and owners pay $6.3 million charge
In addition to the massive fee paid by the doctors and the practice, Dr. Manavi has agreed to resolve a separate charge. His real estate company, City Real Estate Holdings Inc., has paid “$35,149.82 to resolve its potential liability under the False Claims Act in connection with a separate PPP loan,” said the report.
PPP was an integral part of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States alleges that West Coast Dental and six of its affiliated dental practices received relief via the PPP scheme.
The report states that they “received seven improper second draw PPP loans and subsequent forgiveness of these loans based on false certifications that the companies qualified for the loans even though they were ineligible because the dental practices collectively employed more than 300 individuals.”
It is further alleged that the doctors failed to declare common ownership of the dental practices in their applications for monetary support.
“PPP loans were intended to support small businesses facing difficult economic times due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to hold borrowers who improperly received and sought forgiveness of PPP loans accountable for their actions.”
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