PORT CLINTON — Federal agents from the FBI and a state agency responsible for investigating Medicaid fraud raided an Ottawa County dental office early Tuesday morning.
Agents with the FBI, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Ohio Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Unit carried boxes out of Catawba Dental, located on Catawba Road, and loaded the items onto the back of a U-Haul truck.
By noon agents were trickling out of the building, and the U-Haul drove away.
A “CLOSED” sign was displayed in the business’s front door, but the choice to close the office was left up to the local staff, said Special Agent Vicki Anderson with the FBI Cleveland division.
No one has been charged or taken into custody, Special Agent Anderson told The Blade on Tuesday morning. She did not comment on what the agents were looking for in their investigation.
She said court documents related to the case were sealed and she was not able to provide any additional information.
When reached by phone, Gregory Hart, who is listed as one of the dentists on the practice's website and the outside of the building, declined to comment on behalf of himself and Peter Wolfram, who is also listed as a dentist there.
"I really can't comment," he said. "I don't understand what's going on."
Zach Russell, spokesman for the Ohio State Dental Board, said both dentists’ licenses are active.
Catawba Dental’s website described the two dentists as graduates of Ohio State’s dental school who have “completed substantial amounts of continuing dental education and have completed training in oral rehabilitation.”
“Together, they share philosophies that enable excellent dental care with comprehensive treatment planning and treatment,” the site states.
A representative of the Attorney General’s Office referred all questions to the FBI.
Staff writer Lauren Lindstrom contributed to this report.
Contact Kate Snyder at ksnyder@theblade.com, 419-724-6282 or on Twitter @KL_Snyder
First Published August 21, 2018, 2:48 p.m.
