A Las Vegas woman who was charged with embezzling more than $249K from a dental office has been accused of another embezzlement scheme at another practice, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Danielle Powers, 42, was hired by Desert Hills Dental in 2014 as an office manager, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
A co-worker reported Ms. Powers in 2019 to practice owner Deborha Staten, DMD, and her husband and business manager, John Staten, saying that she saw Ms. Powers engage in suspicious activity with a customer, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The co-worker, Marleny Delgado, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that she saw Ms. Powers sitting in the office with an unfamiliar man counting a large amount of cash. When she checked the patient's account, there was no record of a large cash deposit applied to the customer's account balance, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Video footage showed Ms. Powers hiding the customer's cash in the office, leaving for the day, then retrieving it after hours, authorities told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
A forensic investigator discovered an embezzlement scheme that caused the office a $249,216 loss, the Statens told the grand jury.
Initially, Ms. Powers was charged with felony theft and embezzlement in February 2020, but was released from custody on her own recognizance, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
In October 2020, she was indicted on 10 felony theft and embezzlement counts and entered a not guilty plea to the charges, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Ms. Powers was arrested again in October 2021 after being accused of embezzling from Smile Vegas Dental in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Smile Vegas Dental owner Naweed Najand, DMD, told a grand jury in March 2022 that he hired Ms. Powers to work as an office manager. Customers began to tell him they paid cash for services, but their accounts didn't reflect those payments.
Dr. Najand told the grand jury that video surveillance showed Ms. Power hiding patients' cash under a clipboard.
Authorities alleged Ms. Powers stole more than $10,000 from the Smile Vegas Dental office, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She was indicted on March 24 on a felony theft charge in the alleged theft from Smile Vegas Dental, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Ms. Power is currently at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.