A dentist who intentionally broke his patients' teeth has been convicted of five counts of healthcare fraud and two counts of making false claims.
In a scenario straight out of nightmares, Wisconsin dentist Scott Charmoli ran an elaborate scheme that began with breaking patients' teeth and ended with him collecting millions.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Charmoli began his scheme back in 2015. He would purposely break or drill into his patients' teeth, thus necessitating repairs — which Charmoli would bill them for.
The Washington Post reports that Charmoli made $1.4 million in 2014, before he began breaking his patients' teeth. In 2015, the first year of his scheme, he made $2.5 million — over a million dollars more.
Starting in 2015, Charmoli started pressuring his patients into getting crowns, even when the procedure wasn't necessary. From there, he'd break the tooth, then sent x-rays of the damage to insurance providers to show them the teeth were broken.
While Charmoli sent photos to insurance providers, most would not fully cover crown procedures. That means that patients wound up footing the bill for the unnecessary work.
"It seemed excessive, but I didn't know any better," former patient Todd Tedeschi testified. "He was the professional. I just trusted him."
That case can't begin until after Charmoli's sentencing for his federal criminal convictions. But with a criminal conviction already on the books, Charmoli could be forced to pay serious medical malpractice damages.
Charmoli faces up to ten years for each of his five counts of healthcare fraud, and up to five years for each count of making false claims. The maximum penalty for the 61-year-old former dentist would be 60 years in prison.
Many of us don't like going to the dentist at the best of times, so the thought of a dentist intentionally harming a patient's teeth is downright nightmarish.
Let us know your thoughts on this story, and on experiences with the dentist in general, in the comments section.
