Knoxville Dentist Sentenced To Prison For Conspiring To Commit Health Care Fraud

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On March 10, 2023, Clarence (“Buzz”) Nabers, 56 years old, was sentenced to six months in prison followed by six months of home detention by the Honorable Katherine A. Crytzer, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville.  Judge Crytzer also ordered Dr. Nabers to serve one year on supervised release, pay restitution in the amount of $249,600.02, and pay a fine of $22,128.

Dr. Nabers, a Tennessee licensed dentist, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 1347. 

As set forth in the written plea agreement filed with the court, during the time of the conspiracy, which began on an unknown date and lasted until at least November 1, 2018, Dr. Nabers conspired to submit more than 6,700 fraudulent claims to three health care benefit programs, resulting in a loss amount to those programs of $249,600.02. 

Those fraudulent claims, which were submitted using Dr. Nabers’s National Provider Identifier number, falsely represented that Dr. Nabers had either personally performed or supervised various dental procedures in his office, including but not limited to Oral Evaluations, Oral Evaluations for Patients under 3 Years of Age, and Comprehensive Periodontal Evaluations.  These procedures are required to be performed or supervised by a dentist, and not by a dental hygienist or dental assistant.  Dr. Nabers admitted that he had not, in fact, personally performed or supervised the performance of those procedures because he was not physically present at the office when they were performed.  Instead, the procedures were performed by dental hygienists or dental assistants when the defendant was not physically present in the office.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

Former Assistant United States Attorney T.J. Harker, and current Assistant United States Attorney William A. Roach, Jr., prosecuted the case.

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