RIVER FALLS, Mass., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A River Falls, Mass., dentist was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to assault and fraud charges.
Michael Clair, a dentist who used a paper clip to strengthen a root canal, pleaded guilty to assault on patients, tampering with evidence and Medicaid fraud, The (Fall River, Mass.) Herald News reported Monday.
Superior Court Judge Richard T. Moses sentenced Clair to 2 1/2 years at the House of Correction with 1 1/2 years of his sentence suspended for five years after his release, during which he will be on probation.
Clair was also ordered to pay restitution to the state and the two former patients who were identified as victims in the case, and will no longer be allowed to practice dentistry in Massachusetts.
Prosecutors alleged Clair was paid $130,000 in all from MassHealth for work he did. The bills were submitted under the name of other dentists at his Harbour Dental in Fall River.
"It is unfair," said Brenda Almeida, whose son, Joshua Almeida was one of the victims. "He should have gotten more time. With what my son went through, the pain and suffering, he should have gotten more time."
