HOUSTON – In a grim turn of events, Rene Fernandez Gaviola, a 68-year-old Houston dental clinic operator, has been sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for orchestrating an elaborate $6 million Medicaid fraud and kickbacks scheme. The U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced the sentence against Gaviola.
Gaviola, who operated Floss Family Dental Care from 2018 until April 2021, pleaded guilty on January 26th. Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane imposed the harsh sentence and ordered Gaviola to pay $4,908,957.89 in restitution to Medicaid, along with a personal money judgement of $2,996,092.
Crane highlighted Gaviola’s involvement of his own son in the fraud scheme, noting that despite having $2 million in assets in the Philippines, Gaviola failed to make any attempt to pay back restitution. The court also noted the absence of licensed dentists during some operations at Floss Family Dental Care.
According to authorities, Gaviola submitted fraudulent Medicaid claims for pediatric dental services, including numerous cavity fillings that were not provided. He employed his son, an unlicensed dentist, and paid kickbacks to marketers and caregivers to bring children in for dental services. Gaviola admitted to laundering Medicaid funds from the Floss business account to his personal account.
The scheme resulted in over $6.9 million billed to Medicaid, with approximately $4.9 million being paid out. Gaviola’s co-conspirator, Mia Diaz, was previously sentenced to 21 months imprisonment and three years of supervised release.
Following his sentencing, Gaviola was taken into custody and will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility. The investigation was conducted by the FBI, Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Olson and Lauren Valenti prosecuting the case.
RELATED: Houston Dental Clinic Operator Rene Fernandez Gaviola Sentenced to $6M Fraud Scheme
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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