Dirty Wisconsin Dentist Broke Teeth On Purpose, Created Fortune

Wisconsin Dentist Guilty - Broke Patients' Teeth to Make Millions

If you're looking for high-grade nightmare fuel, this is it. A Wisconsin dentist was recently found guilty of breaking patients' teeth with a drill so he could then charge them for a repair with a crown.

It Took A Long Time for the Royal Rip-Off to be Discovered

While the scheme of breaking patients' teeth with a drill and then preparing the damage with a crown started in 2015, it wasn't discovered until 2019, when 61-yaar-old Grafton, Wisconsin dentist Scott Charmoli sold the practice.

The new owner was checking the records and couldn't believe how many crown jobs Charmoli did. Wisconsin dentists average a little less than six crowns per 100 patients. Charmoli's rate was 78 crowns per 100 patients.

In the time Charmoli was running the scheme, his personal income went from $1.4 Million to $2.5 Million in one year.

How'd He Do it?

A patient would come in, get an x-ray, and the dangerous dentist would show them a tiny line or a spot on a tooth, say it was decay, and go in to do the crown.

That's when he used his drill to create real damage, take another x-ray (that x-ray went to the insurance company), and then do the crown work. His dental assistant thought it was odd he took two x-rays, but Charmoli said it was to be extra sure their butts were covered with insurance.

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It wasn't until December of 2020 Charmoli was indicted by a federal grand jury. At that point, he had vacation properties in WisconSIN and Arizona and was worth about $6.8 Million.

How Much Time Will Charmoli Spend In Prison

Found guilty of five counts of health care fraud and two counts of making false statements related to health care matters, he could be in prison for 10 years for each count of health care fraud, and up to five years for each false statement. No word on restitution.

While his sentencing is coming up in June, his troubles are far from settled, as almost 100 former patients are suing him.

Information from justice.gov and  arstechnica.com 

As always, if you have a comment, complaint, or concern about something I wrote here, please let me know: james.rabe@townsquaremedia.com

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