PHILADELPHIA (Diya TV) — Federal prosecutors say two brothers who operated a network of dental clinics across Pennsylvania ran a years-long criminal enterprise that defrauded public healthcare programs, exploited foreign workers through immigration fraud, and laundered millions of dollars through a network of businesses.
A federal jury convicted Bhaskar Savani and his brother Arun Savani on multiple criminal charges tied to the operation of their dental and business organization known as the Savani Group. Authorities said the organization controlled a system of dental offices and related corporate entities that prosecutors described as the backbone of several overlapping fraud schemes.
According to federal prosecutors, one of the largest schemes centered on Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program. Investigators said the clinics routinely submitted claims for procedures that were never performed, inflated the cost of legitimate treatments, and in some cases carried out medically unnecessary dental work to increase reimbursement payments from the government healthcare system.
Authorities estimate that the fraudulent billing caused more than $30 million in losses to Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program.
Prosecutors also alleged that some clinics used dental implants labeled “not for human use” and placed them into patients without their knowledge or consent. Despite using the non-approved devices, investigators said the clinics billed Medicaid as though they had used approved medical implants, allowing the organization to collect higher reimbursement payments.
Federal investigators said the scheme extended beyond healthcare fraud. Another major component of the case involved the alleged abuse of the H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. employers to hire highly skilled foreign workers when domestic labor is unavailable.
According to prosecutors, the Savani organization filed fraudulent visa petitions for foreign workers and then required some employees to return portions of their salaries after arriving in the United States. Investigators said certain workers were pressured to pay kickbacks to maintain their employment, effectively reducing their wages below the levels reported to federal authorities.
Prosecutors argued that these practices allowed the organization to both manipulate the visa system and generate additional illegal revenue.
Authorities also said the profits generated from the healthcare and immigration fraud schemes were moved through multiple companies connected to the dental network in an effort to conceal the origin of the money. Federal prosecutors said this process involved shifting funds across various business entities, a pattern investigators described as an attempt to disguise illicit proceeds and avoid detection.
Because the alleged crimes were carried out through multiple businesses over several years and involved coordinated financial activity, prosecutors charged the brothers under federal racketeering statutes commonly used to prosecute organized criminal enterprises.
The racketeering charges allowed prosecutors to present the network of clinics, corporate entities, and financial transactions as part of a broader criminal operation rather than isolated incidents of fraud.
During the investigation, images posted online drew additional public attention after the brothers shared photographs on social media showing them posing with FBI Director Kash Patel at what appears to have been a public event. The photos circulated widely online after news of the convictions emerged.
Federal authorities have emphasized that there is no indication Patel had any connection to the investigation or to the alleged criminal activity. Officials say the photographs appear to have been taken at a public gathering where attendees often take pictures with public officials.
The case was investigated by federal law enforcement agencies and prosecuted by federal prosecutors who said the operation represented one of the larger healthcare fraud cases involving a dental network in the region.
Following their convictions, Bhaskar Savani and Arun Savani now face the possibility of lengthy prison sentences. Because the charges include racketeering, healthcare fraud, visa fraud, and money laundering, the potential combined sentences could total hundreds of years in federal prison.
