Texas Justices Toss Dentist’s $16 Million Medicaid Fraud Penalty

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday tossed out a $16 million Medicaid fraud judgment against a dentist, saying the state failed to prove wrongdoing or show that it suffered harm from what the dentist chalked up to a clerical error.

The reversal, on a 6-2 vote, clears Dr. Richard Malouf, founder of All Smiles Dental Center, in an investigation that began 12 years ago with a whistleblower complaint.

The opinion focuses on a grammatical construction in the law that says a Medicaid claim must indicate the type or professional license and the identification number of the person who provided the ...