31 dental legal battles covered this summer

Reopening their practices amid the pandemic isn't the only thing creating a tumultuous summer for dentists. Below are 31 of the most notable instances of illegal or allegedly illegal behavior regarding dentists, dental companies and patients Becker's covered this summer.

  1. Denver Tackett, DMD, owner and operator of McDowell, Ky.-based Tackett Family Dentistry, pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud.

  2. Paul Marshall, DMD, a Hyannis, Mass.-based cosmetic dentist, filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Safety Insurance Co., claiming it should have covered the income losses he incurred during his practice's mandated period of closure.

  3. Virginia dentist Matthew Mower, DDS, faced multiple charges stemming from an alleged assault and driving while intoxicated allegation.

  4. Jeffrey Mathews, DDS, a Nashville, Tenn.-based dentist, pleaded guilty to violating public health orders after throwing a large house party during the pandemic.

  5. Illinois dentist Yun Sup Kim, DDS, was ordered to serve 12 months and one day in federal prison for defrauding Illinois Medicaid via a yearslong false reimbursement scheme.

  6. Pranathi V. Reddy, DMD, a traveling oral surgeon living in Pennsylvania, faced multiple charges after allegedly altering patient medical records of drug usage to conceal her own drug use.

  7. The state of Texas ordered Dallas dentist Richard Malouf, DDS, to pay roughly $16.5 million for violating the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act.

  8. A Connecticut dentist was ordered to pay $149,000 in a settlement related to claims he submitted to the state's Medicaid program for administering anesthesia to patients after his permit had expired.

  9. Waco, Texas-based Stonehaven Dental and Orthodontics was sued for $200,000 to $1 million by a local couple who claim the practice deceived them about insurance coverage for tooth extraction and replacement procedures.

  10. Utah dentist Blake Matthews, DDS, was charged with child abuse after witnesses told police he forced a child to have dental X-rays without parental consent.

  11. Shirley Dunn, a former office manager at a Minnesota dental practice was accused of stealing as much as $800,000 from her employer for trips, concerts, her children's school fees and other luxuries.

  12. California dental employee Karla Morales was arrested for failure to pay restitution from a fraud scheme she committed while working at Delano Family Dentistry.

  13. Washington dentist Sam Wise, DDS, faced a lawsuit from a former employee who claimed she lost wages due to wrongfully modified time sheets, unpaid work during breaks and a reduced final paycheck.

  14. Maryland dentist Edward Buford III, DDS, along with two others, allegedly paid kickbacks to recruit patients and obtained millions in Medicaid payments for services that weren't always delivered.

  15. A lawsuit linked to a January 2019 ransomware incident at Boaz, Ala.-based Sarrell Regional Dental Center for Public Health was dismissed by a federal judge due to lack of evidence that data was misused.

  16. Virginia man Juan Ramos Jacobe, who was charged in March with the sexual assault of a minor and practicing unlicensed dentistry, faced 11 new charges related to his illegitimate dental practice.

  17. Tulsa, Okla.-based dentist Timothy Aldrich, DDS, and two employees were arrested for allegedly obtaining prescription drugs for personal use.

  18. Shannon Raye Wilson, an office manager at an Oregon dental practice, was arrested for allegedly embezzling more than $140,000 between 2013 and 2020.

  19. Melissa Evans, a woman who worked as a bookkeeper for a West Virginia dentist, pleaded guilty to stealing from her former employer.

  20. Buffalo, N.Y.-based dentist Robert Herzog, DDS, faced a Child Victims Act lawsuit after a woman claimed he abused her when she was a child.

  21. Alma Almendariz and Maria Urandy, two California dental assistants, faced multiple charges of identity theft, insurance fraud and grand theft.

  22. A $2.5 million verdict againstThomas O'Keeffe, DDS, a dentist who drilled into a woman's tongue, was upheld by a Missouri appeals court.

  23. Seven parents and one dental assistant have filed police reports against Ohio dentist Ronald Griffin, DDS, for allegedly assaulting children in his care.

  24. Mississippi dentist Jon Germany, DMD, filed a $10 million lawsuit against the state dental board, alleging he is being disciplined because he advertises his dental service on television.

  25. SmileDirectClub filed lawsuits against three Delta Dental entities, accused of denying their customers teledentistry benefits.

  26. A handful of dental practices in Southern California received legal claims for not using an accessible website design.

  27. Rhode Island dental employee Kris Magbag was arrested on charges of second-degree sexual assault of a teenage patient who was under anesthesia.

  28. Three Virginia Beach, Va.-based dentists agreed to pay $30,000 to settle allegations that they violated the Controlled Substances Act.

  29. Nevada dentist Timothy Wilson, DDS, was indicted on tax charges by a federal grand jury.

  30. Adam Slatniske, DDS, a former family dentist in Maryland, pleaded guilty to promoting and/or distributing child pornography at his practice.

  31. Pittsburgh-based Smile Savers Dentistry filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Chicago-based CNA insurance, seeking coverage for pandemic-induced losses and expenses.

More articles on dental:
Top 10 dental, DSO stories in August
UV light disinfection company targeting dental practices
MB2 Dental enters 17th state

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