Michigan charges dentist with 43 counts of Medicaid fraud

A Northville dentist has been charged with 43 felony counts of Medicaid fraud for allegedly billing the state for dental procedures she never performed, according to Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Demetra C. Kazanis, 55, was arraigned May 27 before Judge Molly E. Hennessey Greenwalt of the 54B District Court in East Lansing. The 43 felony counts relate to an alleged Medicaid fraud scheme.

Kazanis has been charged with one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $100,000. She is charged with 42 counts of Medicaid fraud, each punishable by up to four years of incarceration and/or a fine of up to $50,000.

Kazanis, who was practicing at the New You Dental clinic in Livonia, allegedly billed the taxpayer-funded Medicaid program repeatedly for fillings that were either not performed or were performed as less invasive preventive resin restorations.

Preventive resin restorations are limited to the tooth’s enamel surface and do not require drilling into the dentin or using anesthesia. Fillings, by contrast, are more extensive procedures reimbursed by Medicaid at a higher rate.

“Abuse of the Medicaid program diverts critical funds from those in need,” Nessel said. “Patients should be able to trust their dentist to provide appropriate care, just as taxpayers should be able to trust Medicaid providers to bill honestly. My department remains committed to prosecuting fraudsters who exploit the system.”

Kazanis was given a $50,000 personal recognizance bond. She was due in court June 5 for a probable cause conference.

The Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Division, which is handling this case, is the federally certified Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for the state of Michigan. It receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a $5.5 million grant for the 2026 fiscal year.

The remaining 25%, or $1.8 million, comes from the state budget.

Finding Medicaid fraud can be difficult unless it is reported by an employee at the organization committing fraud or detected by the state or federal government through data analysis. The latter route is a challenge, given the sheer number of providers billing the government.

There were 261,833 Medicaid providers in Michigan as of late April 2026, according to a document Michigan Capitol Confidential obtained through a records request. Of those Medicaid providers, only 416 were validated between April 1 and April 21.

The Medicaid providers must be revalidated to keep their authority to bill Medicaid for services. Between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, more than 53,100 Medicaid providers were revalidated, according to the document.

The longest time that any current Medicaid provider has gone without revalidation is 60 months, or five years. In the last five years, 89,932 Medicaid providers were not revalidated, meaning they are supposed to have been disqualified for Medicaid payments.

Among the 150 providers that billed Medicaid the most, billings ranged from $12 million to $323 million, according to a separate document obtained through a records request.

Scott McClallen