A St. Augustine, Fla., bookkeeper who allegedly presented a fake Vanderbilt University master’s degree to obtain her position has been charged with stealing more than $63,000 from an endodontist, the St. Johns Citizen reported Aug. 24.
Heather Dettra was hired as bookkeeper for Robert Thousand III, DDS, in March 2025. Investigators later confirmed the Vanderbilt University degree she presented was fraudulent. The alleged theft was discovered in April when Dr. Thousand audited his business accounts.
Ms. Dettra allegedly used Dr. Thousand’s email to obtain an American Express card in her name through the practice’s account, making 151 unauthorized purchases totaling $34,013. She also allegedly charged $16,144 to the practice’s JetBlue credit card and wrote herself six unauthorized checks totaling $11,066. Before the practice’s QuickBooks records were provided to an accountant, the checks’ payee and memo information was allegedly altered to conceal the transactions.
Ms. Dettra faces felony charges of criminal use of personal identification information, grand theft and fraudulent use of a credit card. Dr. Thousand filed a separate civil lawsuit Aug. 19 seeking $66,779, after additional missing funds were discovered following the criminal investigation.
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