Hall County dentist sentenced for $1 million fraud

GAINESVILLE - A Gainesville dentist who admitted to filing more than a million dollars in fraudulent insurance claims was sentenced to prison Wednesday, fined and ordered to make restitution. <br> <br> The dentist, Mark A. Smith, pleaded guilty in September to 35 counts of insurance fraud and one count of theft by taking. <br> <br> Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine said Smith had been billing Aetna and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Georgia for services he never performed. <br> <br> Smith, who lives in the Atlanta area, was arrested June 14th at his office in Gainesville. <br> <br> Oxendine said Superior Court Judge Bonnie Chessher Oliver sentenced Smith to two years in prison, one year of house arrest and a five-thousand dollar. Oxendine said the judge also ordered Smith to make restitution of one and a quarter million dollars and perform 500 hours of community service.