Scorpions arrest Pta dentist

2003-05-09 08:17

Pretoria - A Pretoria North dentist was arrested at his home on Friday morning for alleged medical aid fraud believed to total hundreds of thousands of rands.

The 31-year-old dentist was apprehended in an early morning raid by the elite Scorpions unit, the Special Investigating Unit and the Assets Forfeiture Unit.

The man is alleged to have claimed from people's medical aid without having examined or even knowing them, said Gauteng Scorpions head Advocate Gerhard Nel.

The fraud was uncovered when people allegedly noticed the dentist claiming from their medical aid without them ever having been to see him.

The nine complainants are all employed by the department of correctional services.

The dentist, dressed in pyjama pants, took awhile to open the door to investigators who arrived before 06:00.

Nel said the team would seize the dentist's home and its contents, three vehicles and three guns.

The man lived in a large, luxuriously furnished home in Nina Park. In the living room stands a big screen television, a well-equipped bar and six remote controls were seen lying around.

He is expected to appear in the Pretoria magistrate's court later in the day.

The preliminary charge sheet would list nine counts of fraud involving R17 000, but Nel said the racket was believed to involve hunders of thousands of rands.

Investigators would next visit the dentist's offices in Rosslyn.

Nel said the arrests formed part of a larger investigation into medical aid fraud for which 100 medical doctors were currently under investigation.

- SAPA