Canadian media on Monday spotlighted a Calgary dentist who defrauded two insurance coverage corporations — Solar Life and Blue Cross — of greater than $126,000 in false claims, primarily for root canals.
Dr. Alena Smadych, former proprietor of All About Household Dental on Elbow Drive S.W., pleaded responsible to fraud on what was scheduled to be the primary day of her eight-day trial, as reported by each CBC Information and the Calgary Herald.
Following a spike in suspicious costs, Solar Life started investigating in September 2021. One of many crimson flags was a single-day submission on Dec. 20, 2020, totalling $19,144 for 17 totally different sufferers. The corporate’s audit revealed 51 fraudulent claims between June 2015 and June 2021, leading to a lack of $96,965.46.
In keeping with an agreed assertion of info learn in court docket, Smadych submitted falsified data — together with pretend X-rays — to assist the claims.
As soon as Solar Life flagged the difficulty, Calgary police notified different suppliers, prompting Blue Cross to launch its personal audit. Blue Cross uncovered an extra $29,307.68 in fraudulent claims associated to 5 sufferers between 2013 and 2023.
In complete, the 2 corporations misplaced $126,273.14, making Smadych’s clinic the highest-billing normal dental apply in Canada for root canals — an uncommon distinction given its measurement.
Smadych, initially educated in Russia, had been practising in Calgary since 2013. She offered her clinic in February 2025 after being charged with the Solar Life fraud and earlier than the Blue Cross costs have been laid. The Faculty of Dental Surgeons of Alberta confirmed that she is now not practising.
A psychiatric threat evaluation has been ordered forward of sentencing.