Amy Jacob

A formerly licensed California dentist is facing criminal charges after he allegedly drove patients across the border to Tijuana for “low price” illegal dental work.

After his license was revoked in 2005, officials say Robert Mansueto, 63, of Coronado, CA, continued practicing dentistry under an alias: Bob Franco, DDS.

, Mansueto owns a dental company, AmerOss, and worked for a tax consulting company for doctors and dentists. He is accused of recruiting patients for dentists in Tijuana and receiving commissions for his assistance.

Officers allege Mansueto was meeting patients at his Coronado home and driving them to Tijuana. Another dentist would meet them at the Tijuana location to help Mansueto perform dental implant surgery.

Unhappy patients approached the media with “complaints about substandard work”.

 “her mouth became infected and one of her implants fell out”. She also accused Mansueto of piercing one of her sinus cavities.

Two dental board investigators questioned Mansueto after an investigator posed undercover as a patient.

Officials arrested Mansueto at the San Ysidro port of entry and charged him with practicing dentistry under a false name and without a license and treating the sick/afflicted without a certificate. Performing surgery on patients without a medical license is his most serious offense.

Mansueto has pleaded not guilty to all charges — his next hearing is scheduled for July 18.

He is in Central San Diego County Jail, and his bail is set at $200,000.

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Officials say a formerly licensed dentist took a commission in exchange for bringing patients into Mexico for dental implants. 

Unlicensed Dentist Charged With Driving Patients to Tijuana for 'Low-Cost' Dental Care

The city administrator for a small eastern Nebraska city has been cited for three misdemeanors after an altercation in a dental office.

Bellevue, NE, city administrator Dan Berlowitz was arrested last week after allegedly barging into the office of Allan Smith, DDS, at around 8:30 a.m. on June 21.

Smith claims Berlowitz pushed the dentist in the chest and in the shoulder.

Witnesses say Berlowitz “was loud, agitated, and confrontational, and refused to leave after being asked numerous times”.

, Berlowitz apparently screamed at Smith, saying the dentist wrote him a bad check.

KETV also said Berlowitz’s wife used to work at Smith’s office, but was let go.

Berlowitz had been placed on indefinite paid administrative leave. 

, the city issued a press release declining to comment on the matter, except to say, “The reason surrounding his [Berlowitz’s] status is a personnel matter that’s under investigation and will remain confidential”.

According to the KETV, the allegations, if proven true, would violate 12 of the 30 regulations in the city’s code of conduct section.

Berlowitz was charged on three counts of second-degree trespass, disturbing the peace, and third degree assault.

A Nebraska dentist alleges the city administrator barged into his office at the start of business last month and assaulted and berated the dentist.

Nebraska City Official Charged With Assaulting Local Dentist

The owner of a Stamford, CT, dental practice is facing federal charges after she allegedly used stolen identity information to operate a healthcare fraud scheme.

Advanced Dentistry owner Elena Ilizarov, 43, was arrested last week.

The federal complaint against Ilizarov accuses her of fraudulently obtaining a retired dentist’s records back in 2005, and using that information to bill insurance companies for more than $1.1 million through her practice.

“This alleged scheme victimized a retired dentist who had his identity stolen, as well as multiple insurance companies that paid more than a million dollars in fraudulent claims. Healthcare insurance fraud schemes ultimately increase healthcare costs for all of us,” Deirdre Daly, US Attorney for the District of Connecticut said.

If convicted, Ilizarov faces up to 20 years in prison. She has been released on a $500,000 bond contingent on wearing a GPS monitoring device.

According to Daly, the announcement of the arrest was part of a national healthcare fraud takedown, led by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.

This nationwide sweep of 36 federal districts resulted in criminal and civil charges against 300 people — including 61 doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals for fraudulent billings of nearly $900 million.

The owner of a Connecticut dentistry practice allegedly used a retired dentist's name to fraudulently bill insurance companies.

Connecticut Dental Practice Owner Charged with Identity Theft and Fraud

A Pittsburgh dentist has been indicted by a federal grand jury on six counts of improperly distributing oxycodone.

According to court documents, Daniel Garner was accused of dispensing the painkillers without valid medical reasons from Feb. 13, 2014 to June 11, 2015.  

The grand jury charged Garner on a separate count of omitting crucial information on a US Drug Enforcement Administration form, specifically, that he had previously lost his registration number for not following federal regulations on prescribing controlled substances.

If convicted, Garner could be given a maximum total sentence on all counts of up to 124 years in prison, a fine of $6,250,000, a term of supervised release of three years, or both.

However, under federal sentencing guidelines, the actual sentence would depend on the severity of the offenses and any prior criminal history.

The American Dental Association is currently updating its guidelines of proper opioid use and the revised 

According to ADA council members, “Every year, millions of adolescents receive their first introduction to opioids following the extraction of their third molars. Many of these young adults may have never received these centrally acting analgesics before in their lives. We have a special responsibility to counsel them about their dangers and educate them about their safe use of opioids when taken for acute postoperative pain.”

Federal prosecutors currently plan to seize Garner’s Pittsburgh office, because it was allegedly used to aid in drug crimes.

A Pittsburgh dentist is facing federal charges relating to accusations he prescribed oxycodone without medical reason.

Pittsburgh Dentist Charged with Illegally Distributing Painkillers

Kingston, NY, dentist Gilberto Nunez was found not guilty Tuesday in the November 2011 murder of his lover’s husband.

Linda Kolman found her husband, Thomas, dead in his parked car outside the Planet Fitness gym in Ulster in November 2011.

Nunez’s Nissan Pathfinder was allegedly seen at the plaza shortly before Thomas Kolman’s death.

In October of last year, Nunez, 49, was accused of fatally poisoning Thomas Kolman. Nunez was also charged with two counts of possession of a forged instrument in relation to apparently false claims Nunez made about being part of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Prosecutors suggested Nunez killed Kolman, 44, by giving him a cup of coffee laced with the medical sedative midazolam.

They alleged Nunez hoped to keep Linda Kolman for himself after their 11-month affair. 

Jurors, however, were unconvinced. “We just didn’t feel there was enough evidence,” one juror told the 

. “…There were too many holes in the chain to knowingly convict for that one charge.”

Nunez was, however, found guilty of the two charges of possession of a forged instrument.

At trial, the defense stressed that Nunez and Kolman were “best friends,” and reminded the jury of Kolman’s heart condition and sleep apnea — potential culprits in his death.

Furthermore, no eyewitnesses had come forward and there was no concrete DNA evidence linking Nunez to Kolman’s death.

Laura Labay, PhD, a forensic toxicologist at NMS Labs, explained Kolman’s toxicology tests showed caffeine in his blood, but she was unable to discern whether the caffeine was ingested, came from coffee, or came from another source.

Labay also testified the midazolam could have been consistent with a therapeutic dosage.

After hearing the verdict, Linda, Kolman’s widow, broke out in tears, yelling, “Sociopath!” “Psychotic!” and “Lying sack of sh-t!”

Nunez will remain free on his original $1 million bail while awaiting sentencing for his forgery convictions. He faces up to seven years in state prison.

Meanwhile, a separate trial is pending for lesser charges of grand larceny, insurance fraud, falsifying business records, perjury, and making false statements in cases unrelated to Kolman’s death. 

A high-profile murder case involving a New York dentist ended with an acquittal this week.

New York Dentist Cleared of 2011 Love Triangle Murder Charge

The California Supreme Court has overturned a 1997 murder conviction after finding the expert testimony of a prominent dentist was faulty and the bite-mark evidence shown to jurors was unreliable.

The ruling means San Bernardino resident William “Bill” Richards could go free two decades after being arrested for the 1993 murder of his wife Pamela.

On Aug. 10, 1993, Pamela Richards was manually strangled and severely beaten with two fist-sized rocks. Her skull was crushed with a concrete steppingstone.

Bill Richards told police he arrived from work just after midnight to his unusually dark home. Searching for his wife, he eventually stumbled across her half-naked body, finding her head bashed in and her brain exposed.

He called 911 and a police officer arrived at 12:32 a.m., followed by homicide detectives at 3:15 a.m. However, police failed to effectively secure the crime scene, allowing dogs to roam freely and potentially contaminate evidence.

Police were unable to place anyone else at the scene of the crime, and eventually charged Bill Richards with his wife’s murder. The heart of their case was the prosecution’s assertion that Richards was the only one with the opportunity to commit the crime.

The prosecution also presented a blue thread found under Pamela Richards’ fingernail, which prosecutors believed came from her husband’s shirt.

However, the final piece of key evidence came from a well-respected dentist.

Pamela Richards had a bite mark on her hand, and forensic dentist Norman “Skip” Sperber testified at the time that based on Bill Richards’ “highly unique lower dentition” the bite mark was likely made by Bill Richards’ teeth. In fact, Sperber said Richard’s unique dental pattern and under-erupted canine was probably present in only 1 or 2 patients out of 100.

Bill Richards was convicted in 1997 and sentenced to life in prison.

However, in 2008, Sperber recanted his testimony, saying his 1-2% figure was based only on personal experience and wasn’t a scientifically rigorous statistic. Further, dentists hired by the defense found angular distortions in the photograph of the “bite” mark. Once those distortions were accounted for, neither Sperber nor the defense experts could even say for sure that the mark came from a human, much less one specific person.

This new development spurred a state appeal and late last month the state’s Supreme Court unanimously 

 the testimony qualified as “false evidence” and the bite-mark evidence was crucial to the case. Aside from the alleged bite mark, the court found only circumstantial evidence suggested Richards was the culprit.

The ruling, two decades after the conviction, was the first test of California’s “junk-science” statute, which was passed in 2015 to make it easier to overturn convictions based on testimony later recanted by expert witnesses.

Now, prosecutors are left to decide whether to bring the case to trial again. In the meantime, Richards will be released from state prison and moved to local law enforcement custody in San Bernardino County.

A California man was jailed for life in 1997 based largely on dental evidence from an expert witness. The dentist has since recanted his testimony, leading the California Supreme Court to overturn the conviction.

Flawed Dental Evidence Leads to Overturning of 1997 Murder Conviction in California

A Phoenix woman known affectionately as “Mama Elda” by her patients was arrested last week for allegedly operating an unlicensed dental practice out of her apartment.

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office (AZAG) launched an investigation into Elda Graciela Margez De Zamora’s practice following a tip from the Phoenix Police Department about an unlicensed dental and orthodontic office run by an unlicensed dentist.

The owner of Margez De Zamora’s apartment complex became suspicious when he learned a former office manager had referred an employee to the “dentist” known to tenants as “Mama Elda.”

Many tenants were seeing Margez De Zamora, 54, for dental and orthodontic work — the former office manager had even gotten braces this past January.

On May 4 the complex owner accessed “Mama Elda’s” apartment and saw what resembled a dentist office. The living room was outfitted as a waiting room with chairs, tables, and magazines. The bedroom had a bed set up as dental chair dental instruments, an air-water syringe, high water evacuator, and other dental equipment.

An AZAG agent went undercover and set up an appointment with Margez De Zamora on May 18. He observed “Mama Elda” allegedly treating patients prior to his scheduled appointments.

After completing an open records check with the Arizona State Board of Dental Examiner’s online database, officials found no record for Margez De Zamora as a licensed dentist or dental hygienist.

Margez De Zamora reportedly resides in Mexico and would drive to her Phoenix apartment to perform dental services for cash for the past two years.

AZAG special agents arrested and charged “Mama Elda” for fraudulent schemes and practices, practicing dentistry without a license, and illegal control of an enterprise.

Margez De Zamora is currently held in the Maricopa County 4

When patients came to an apartment-based dental practice in Phoenix, they found a typical office setting, complete with a waiting room and dental equipment. What was nowhere to be found, according to police, was a qualified dental professional.

Woman Found Running Fake Dental Practice From Phoenix Apartment

The chief financial officer of a New York dental office was arrested Monday for allegedly embezzling more than $300,000.

 came at the end of a three-month investigation into his work as CFO at High Peaks Dental Professional Partnership and High Peaks Realty in Plattsburgh, NY. 

Nikki Burdo, office manager for High Peaks Dental, 

, “Some inconsistencies were noted that sprung this investigation into action.”

Police said in a news release, “While working in that capacity between March of 2012 and December of 2015, he embezzled in excess of $300,000 from the companies.”

The firm’s co-owners William P. Caldon, DMD, and Michael O’Connor, DDS, fired Conroy on Dec. 23, 2015.

State police charged Conroy, 32, with two counts of second-degree grand larceny, two counts of falsifying business records, three counts of third-degree forgery, and one count of third-degree grand larceny.

He was arraigned in the Plattsburgh Town Court and released after posting a $50,000 bond.

Conroy will reappear in court on Monday, June 20.

Police say a man who worked as the CFO of a New York dental practice embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from his employer.

Dental Company CFO Charged with Embezzling $300,000

The owner of two Massachusetts dental practices, Hampshire Family Dental and Orchard Family Dental, is disputing a report from the state’s auditor that accuses him of overbilling Massachusetts’ Medicaid program by $290,417.

A state auditor’s report claims the practices run by Samer Tahoun, DMD, routinely gave excessive x-rays to patients and then billed MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid and children’s health insurance program.

State regulations only allow MassHealth to pay for periapical radiographs once every three years as part of a full-mouth series. MassHealth will also pay when the procedure is necessary for specific areas when a dentist anticipates extraction or suspects an infection.

However, the auditor’s report said that Tahoun’s practices ordered and billed MassHealth for these radiographs as part of routine dental exams without a full-mouth series or documentation of pain, infections, or other issues.

According to State Auditor Suzanne Bump, the two practices received a total of $5.2 million in MassHealth payments for July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2015 — the five years covered by the audit.

Bump reported that the auditors flagged Tahoun’s practice after noticing they performed more periapical radiographs than other dental practices in the state.

The practices’ claims for the radiographs represented 46% of the total billed x-rays, nearly double the 28% average.

, Tahoun criticized the auditors for not “sampling a statistically relevant sample of his cases.” He said he and his staff “perform the x-rays when patients complain of pain and discomfort.”

Tahoun also said his patients are at a higher risk of dental problems due to poor diet and health, lack of exposure to fluoridated water, and other causes.

Bump reported in a statement, “MassHealth must now recover the improper payments made to these offices and decide whether further action should be taken against Dr. Tahoun. Additionally, MassHealth should take steps to identify these wrongful patterns of practice more quickly.”

Massachusetts' state auditor says a pair of practices owned by the same dentist routinely performed x-rays in excess of what is allowed under Medicaid. The dentist disputes the accusations.

State Auditor Accuses Massachusetts Dentist of Billing Medicaid for Excessive X-Rays

Certified dentist Amir Haddad may be on the road to stardom as he represents France in the Eurovision Song Contest (Eurovision) this week in Stockholm.

Started in 1956, Eurovision is the longest-running annual international television song competition, featuring representatives from 43 countries in a battle for the year’s best pop song.

Haddad, 31, got his first taste of fame in 2006 in the fourth season of Israeli song contest “A Star is Born,” while still a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

After his military service, Haddad went on to attend and graduate from dentistry school in Jerusalem.

Then in 2014, Haddad brought his talents to the French version of “The Voice.” All four judges turned their chairs toward him during his blind audition.

He placed third and was soon selected to represent France in Eurovision 2016 with the French and English pop song, “J’ai cherché” (“I Have Been Looking For”).

Since France is one of Eurovision’s “Big Five” countries, along with Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, Haddad got to skip the semifinals, which took place earlier this week. He now will be one of the 10 singers competing in the finals.

The contest garners more than 180 million viewers annually, and people select winners by popular vote cast through text messages and an official Eurovision smartphone app.

View the YouTube video below to see a performance by Haddad.

A French-Israeli dentist will represent France this weekend in the Eurovision song contest.