Howard Schneider pleads not guilty to Medicaid fraud

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- (WJXT) -- An attorney for Dr. Howard S. Schneider entered a not guilty plea Monday at the pediatric dentist's arraignment on 11 counts of Medicaid fraud and one count of schemes to defraud.

Schneider, 78, had waived his appearance at previous hearings, but Judge Angela Cox last month said she would not hold a arraignment without the defendant in the courtroom.

Schneider's attorney on Monday also entered a motion to dismiss the charges, and Cox set a hearing for 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to discuss. Schneider remains free on $110,000 bond and is now living in St. Simons Island, Ga.

The state claims the pediatric dentist billed Medicaid hundreds of thousands of dollars for procedures he didn't actually perform. Parents claim that the pediatric dentist abused children.

Included in the state's evidence gathered for the fraud case are nearly a dozen similar accounts from parents telling investigators what they and their kids experienced in Schneider's office.

The Office of the Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit interviewed them as a part of its investigation into the pediatric dentist who is accused of abusing his patients and of Medicaid fraud. Parents of Schneider's patients recounted hearing screams, children injured for procedures, and children getting procedures the parents didn't even know about.

Parents reported their children's lips were bruised, their kids were very scared, and one patient was found face first on the floor.