Judge Holds Former Preston Hollow Dentist Liable for $16.5 Million

A Dallas dentist who prosecutors said lived lavishly at his Preston Hollow home while filing fraudulent Medicaid claims has been ordered to pay roughly $16.5 million by a district court judge.

Attorney General Ken Paxton said Tuesday state district court judge Catherine Mauzy’s final judgment against Dr. Richard Malouf held him responsible for 1,842 violations under the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act as well. She granted a summary judgment in May.

Malouf, who was the former owner of All Smiles Dental Center, operated orthodontic clinics in the Dallas area for years.

“I applaud my litigation team, the court and the Health and Human Services Commission for stopping this misconduct and recovering taxpayer money,” said Paxton in a statement. “Identifying and preventing Medicaid fraud continues to be a top priority for my office and I remain committed to ensuring that Medicaid dollars are preserved for those who most need them.”  

As accusations of Medicaid fraud mounted, Malouf famously sued two local journalists (and a neighbor, Laura Wilson – mother of actors Owen and Luke Wilson, who he alleged helped one of them) for reporting on his lavish lifestyle, which included a Preston Hollow home on Strait Lane that boasted a water park (complete with a lazy river and water slides), two movie theaters, and a ballet room. Malouf sold the home in December 2019 to Dallas developer Mehrdad Moayedi’s Crescent Estates Custom Homes.

The court also found that Malouf fraudulently billed Medicaid for services that were provided by a different doctor that included billings he filed while on vacation in another country.  

d 1 Gv 12 000863 Malouf Judgment by PeopleNewspapersDallas on Scribd

Bethany Erickson

Bethany Erickson, former Digital Editor at People Newspapers, cut her teeth on community journalism, starting in Arkansas. She's taken home a few awards for her writing, including first place for her tornado coverage from the National Newspapers Association's 2020 Better Newspaper Contest, a Gold award for Best Series at the 2018 National Association of Real Estate Editors journalism awards, a 2018 Hugh Aynesworth Award for Editorial Opinion from the Dallas Press Club, and a 2019 award from NAREE for a piece linking Medicaid expansion with housing insecurity. She is a member of the Education Writers Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Association of Real Estate Editors, the News Leaders Association, the News Product Alliance, and the Online News Association. She doesn't like lima beans, black licorice or the word synergy.

One thought on “Judge Holds Former Preston Hollow Dentist Liable for $16.5 Million

  • September 13, 2020 at 6:41 pm
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    Why isn’t this crook in jail ?

    Reply

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