The Pennsylvania Office of State Inspector General (OSIG), acting on a tip from the public, charged Perry County dentist Joseph A. Ciampa with fraudulently obtaining more than $25,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and medical assistance benefits by falsely claiming to work solely at a car dealership while hiding the income from his dental practice.
“This type of brazen fraud is offensive to every honest citizen,” said State Inspector General Bruce R. Beemer. “I am proud of the excellent work done by our investigators in exposing this fraud on the public.”
According to the criminal complaint filed on June 4, 2019, by OSIG agents, Ciampa applied for SNAP and medical assistance in Dauphin and Philadelphia counties in November 2014. The complaint alleges that, knowing he made far more than the income eligibility limit for benefits, he lied on his application and claimed either to be unemployed or working solely at an auto sales shop earning minimal.
In fact, the OSIG reports, Ciampa was a licensed dentist who owned and ran a successful dental practice. Ciampa collected $616,240.71 in insurance claim reimbursements from 2015 through 2018 alone. Four subsequent times from 2015 through 2018, the OSIG adds, Ciampa falsified employment and income information in applications for public benefits.
Between January 2015 and February 2019, Ciampa received $25,546.22 in public benefits for which he was not able. He was charged with one count of fraudulent obtainment of SNAP benefits, graded as a misdemeanor of the first degree, and one count of fraudulent obtainment of medical assistance, graded as a felony of the third degree.
The misdemeanor carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. A felony of the third degree carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment and a $15,000 fine. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 15, 2019.
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