Dentist from Tipperary convicted of fraud against public health service

The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court sentenced 47-year-old dentist Jerome Kiely to one year imprisonment and imposed a €100,000 payment obligation for multi-year financial fraud against the public health service HSE. Kiely pleaded guilty last November in relation to one sample charge involving dishonest obtaining of a €326 payment for dentures that were never delivered to a patient. The crimes lasted for 17 years and involved a total amount of €58,000. According to sources, the fraud involved falsifying medical documentation and submitting claims for payments for services that were never provided. Particularly shocking is the case of an 82-year-old woman, for whom Kiely claimed the removal of 32 teeth, despite the patient having lost all her teeth at age 16. Another elderly woman could not receive dentures because the dentist submitted a false claim in her name, blocking her access to genuine treatment. Paradoxically, for many years Jerome Kiely was one of the largest beneficiaries of the Dental Treatment Service Scheme, a public dental program for medical card holders. The judge, announcing the sentence, stated that the accused "brought about his own complete ruin." The tribunal had difficulty understanding Kiely's motivation, as it appeared the dentist had significant financial means. The sentence serves as a deterrent in the context of combating abuses in the healthcare system.