$11 million dental fraud scheme included Pembroke Pines office, court records show
A Broward County dental practice owner has entered a plea in a multimillion-dollar insurance fraud case involving offices in major South Florida cities, including Pembroke Pines.
According to documents in Palm Beach County court filings, Evelyn Cruz, 43, entered her plea of no contest on Tuesday, Jan. 6, to grand theft and operating as a non-dentist.
The four dental practices operated by Cruz were called Dental Specialists of Boynton Beach, Dental Specialists of Broward (Fort Lauderdale), Dental Specialists of Doral, and Dental Specialists of Pembroke Pines.
Cruz was sentenced to 28 days in county jail, credited with time served, and ordered to complete 48 months of probation. Restitution to the victims will come from forfeited funds and her probation may be transferred to Georgia, where she resides.
The investigation into Cruz’s dental practices began in August 2021 after the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office received complaints from patients whose insurance companies were billed for treatments they did not receive, according to the court affidavit.
An investigation opened on Aug. 21, 2021, uncovered what prosecutors described as a multimillion-dollar scheme. According to the Florida Department of Health, Evelyn Cruz and husband Ysmel Cruz do not have medical or dental licenses.
Prosecutors said Evelyn Cruz, a non-dentist, hired a licensed dentist in South Florida to act as the official operator of her practices while she oversaw staff and operations. Cruz and her husband allegedly submitted insurance claims for services she was not legally qualified to provide.
The dental practices reportedly collected over $11 million from insurance companies from 2012, when Cruz opened her first office, through her arrest this month.
At least one patient reportedly suffered dental issues as a result of the alleged operations.
Sixteen patients were billed out of the Broward office for services rendered at the Boynton Beach office. The estimated overbilling from this practice totaled $12,394.21.
Eleven patients were overcharged on their accounts to allow Cruz to misappropriate funds, totaling $18,149.50.
Seven patients were billed for work never performed, totaling $11,326.
Two patients were charged twice for the same procedure, totaling $7,544.80, and one patient was billed along with their insurance company for the same procedure, totaling $80.
Of the 80 patients identified in the investigation, 17 were 65 years of age or older.
The case was prosecuted by the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, rather than the local state attorney’s office in Palm Beach County.
