Queens Dentist Accused of Billing Medicaid for Root Canals and Crowns While He Was Vacationing in Europe

Edited by Dentaltown staff

His Queens dental office was closed in July 2022, and he was traveling through England, France, and Greece. According to New York prosecutors, Medicaid was still being billed for his work anyway, to the tune of more than $140,000 that month alone.

Queens dentist Suleman Nasimi, 46, of Hicksville, Nassau County, was arrested Sept. 28 and charged with 40 crimes in what New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office describes as a scheme to take more than $300,000 from Medicaid. Investigators allege that from January 2020 through August 2024, Nasimi billed Medicaid through his practice, Tooth Fresh Meadows, for hundreds of procedures that never happened, including root canals and porcelain crowns.

The false claims involved at least 35 Medicaid recipients, according to the attorney general’s office. The office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit led the investigation, with help from the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General and DentaQuest.

The alleged phantom treatment had real consequences for patients. Prosecutors say several of Nasimi’s patients later went to other dentists for care and were denied prior approval, because Medicaid records showed Nasimi had already performed, and been paid for, those same procedures.

Nasimi and Tooth Fresh Meadows were arraigned the same day on two separate 40-count felony complaints before Judge Jennifer Saint-Preux. Each faces one count of second-degree grand larceny, two counts of second-degree health care fraud, two counts of third-degree health care fraud, and 35 counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing.

In announcing the arrest, James said her office will not tolerate dentists who “put personal greed before their patients.”

If convicted on the top count, Nasimi faces five to 15 years in state prison. The charges are accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The attorney general’s announcement did not name an attorney for Nasimi.

Sources:
New York State Office of the Attorney General, “Attorney General James Announces Arrest of Queens Dentist Who Stole Over $300,000 from Medicaid,” press release and felony complaint, Sept. 28, 2026: ag.ny.gov/press-release/queens-dentist-arrest and ag.ny.gov/nasimi-complaint
News 12 Long Island, “Dentist from Hicksville arrested, accused of stealing over $300,000 from Medicaid,” Sept. 28, 2026: longisland.news12.com/dentist-from-hicksville-arrested