Erie Oral Surgeon Indicted over Billing Practices

ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on charges of health care fraud and false statements relating to health care matters, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

The twenty-seven-count indictment named David Edward Palo, 49, as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment presented to the court, from January 2008 to June 2014, Palo falsely billed numerous tooth extractions as surgical extractions, causing fraudulent bills totaling in excess of approximately $232,674 to be submitted to various health insurance companies.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 140 years in prison, a fine of $6,750,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.