For at least four years, Wisconsin dentist Scott Charmoli broke patient's teeth so he could charge to repair them. He was convicted on Friday of five counts of healthcare fraud and two counts of making false statements related to healthcare matters, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Nearly 100 patients are suing him for medical malpractice. From NBC News:
He would show patients an X-ray of a line or space on their tooth and tell them that it was a fracture or some type of decay, according to an indictment. After the patient agreed to the crown — a procedure where a tooth is fixed using a cap — he would use his drill to break off a portion of the patient's tooth and fix it, it alleges.
Charmoli would then take another X-ray of the broken tooth to submit to the insurance company, the indictment says.
From 2016 to 2019, Charmoli billed insurance providers millions of dollars for the crown procedures. He was caught after Charmoli sold his dentistry practice and the new owner spotted evidence of the misconduct in patient records.
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