WHIDBEY ISLAND, Washington (STPNS) -- An Oak Harbor denturist has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree theft and Medicaid fraud.

Oak Harbor police took Kevin Kowalski, owner of Oak Harbor Denture Center, into custody on June 28. The arrest was a result of a joint investigation between the Oak Harbor Police Department and the Washington Attorney General's Office.

According to Attorney General spokesman Dan Sytman, Kowalski has yet to be formally charged with a crime.

Sytman would not release any information about the case, saying it is still under investigation. But according to an Island County District Court search warrant, Kowalski has allegedly received Medicaid payments for services he never provided in 263 separate cases.



"Kowalski was overpaid by Department of Social and Health Services at least $8,385 for services never provided," the warrant said.

Kowalski is also being investigated by the state Department of Health following more than 20 complaints ranging from patient abandonment to substandard care.

On June 5, Island County District Court Commissioner Linda Kipling awarded $2,313 to Kowalski's former patient, 83-year-old Oak Harbor resident Laurette Dunn, to cover the cost of new set of dentures.

Dunn paid Kowalski $2,200 for dentures earlier this year, but he allegedly never made her a working pair and refused to refund her money. According to the warrant, Kowalski is believed to have done the same thing to at least six other local patients.

Oak Harbor Police Chief Rick Wallace said Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Investigator Bev Maddox recently informed his department about Kowalski's alleged activities. He said his department had suspected a problem, but had been unable to take action until Maddox shared the information.

"We've had several complaints from people," Wallace said. "But it's hard for business complaints to rise to a criminal level."

According to the warrant, Oak Harbor Police Department Lt. Tim Sterkel recently told Maddox the department had received four complaints from citizens in the past three months, all of them alleging they paid Kowalski $2,200 for dentures they never received.

The warrant, which was approved the same day as Kowalski's arrest, allowed Maddox and Oak Harbor police to seize Kowalski's patient records.

Boxes stacked to the ceiling of an Oak Harbor motel room were recovered and are expected to help investigators clarify how much money Kowalski allegedly stole from patients and through unwarranted Medicaid payments.

"They will determine the scope of the theft," Wallace said.

Kowalski checked into the motel on June 17, the same day deputies from the Island County Sheriff's Office evicted him from his office space in Oak Harbor, the warrant said.

Kowalski used to have a denture business in Mount Vernon. That office also was closed after he was evicted from his office space by deputies from the Skagit County Sheriff's Office for $11,000 in back rent, the warrant said.

According to Shaun Atkinson, a health care investigator for the state Department of Health, Kowalski still retains his license to practice in Washington. It cannot be revoked until the required paperwork is concluded, he said.

Anyone who suspects they have been scammed by Kowalski is encouraged to call the Washington Attorney General's Office at 360-586-8888.