A dentist broke his patients' teeth so he could fix them. Prosecutors say he made millions.

[Zorro]

Scott Charmoli’s patients’ teeth were just fine, but fine wasn’t making him enough money.

So the dentist in Jackson, Wis., drilled into and broke his patients’ teeth in order to charge them for fixing the damage he’d caused, according to federal prosecutors. By doing so, Charmoli went from pulling in $1.4 million and affixing 434 crowns in 2014 to raking in $2.5 million and performing more than 1,000 crown procedures a year later.

On Thursday, following a four-day trial, Charmoli, 61, was convicted of five counts of health-care fraud and two counts of making false statements about his patients’ treatment. He’s scheduled for sentencing in June, when he’ll face up to 10 years for each of the health-care-fraud counts and a maximum of five years on the other two convictions.

Charmoli’s attorneys didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Washington Post on Tuesday night. But when the dentist pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in December 2020, his lawyer at the time said the only thing her client was guilty of was hard work.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/03/16/wisconsin-dentist-scott-charmoli-intentionally-breaks-patients-teeth/

[Sneederbunk]

1. Do your fraud but don't do it in my mouth.

[mitch96]

2. This guy is like a shady mechanic cauing problems on a car when you just came in for an oil change.

Lots of vid's out there of cameras showing this shit going on.. I swear when dentists look in my mouth they see either a boat payment or alimony payment...
I go to the local Dental school. Good work checked by dental instructors at a good price. YMMV works for me..
m

[Demovictory9]

6. More than 30 yrs ago, dentist was gungho to fix a tooth

By doing the bridge thing...damaging the healthy teeth on each side.. I had the wherewithal to leave.. Tooth only needed cavity fixed


I recall that he wanted to start the bridge work immediately which would have locked me in..no turning back

[mitch96]

8. I generally have good teeth. I had a tooth ache and went to a HUMANA recommended dentist

The first thing he said was "well you have all your teeth and I see you also have all your back molars" I can take care of them for you.. I said fine let me get an estimate from the "finance guy". He said the insurance will cover all 4 extractions to the tune of $4000. I told them I would think about it. Long story short is that he lied. Insurance would only cover one extraction per year. If I had agreed and had all four removed I would have been on the hook for the other three...$3000. If you read the fine print in most medical contracts for services, the PATIENT is responsible for anything not covered. Fuckers.
m

[PCIntern]

3. There's more of this going on than you can imagine...

As a dentist I am well aware of the practices which do this stuff in my area.

[Hekate]

4. That creeps me out more than you can imagine. Well, you probably can imagine.

It’s like those gynecologists that prey on innocent young women. Anyone in a position of trust.

[JoanofArgh]

5. I have an excellent, ethical dentist, luckily but a co-worker,

who'd never had a cavity before in his life went to a new dentist for a check up and was told he had 15 cavities. Co-worker went elsewhere for a second opinion and was told he didn't have a cavity in his mouth.

[Demovictory9]

7. Yikes

[onethatcares]

9. if Medicare would have covered them

his bilking probably would have out done a certain senators companies.

[Johnny2X2X]

10. Aspen Dental

Aspen Dental faced a class action lawsuit for some of the same practices, they'd pull totally healthy teeth to sell clients dentures and bridges. And they'd follow it up with predatory lending practices.

[Meowmee]

11. Someone at my former dentist's office

Told me one of my molars he had repaired and refilled for cracking from metal filling was cracked again. This was after he passed away from suicide. I was suspicious and I was going to get an estimate for something else at another dentist. I asked them about it, they said there was no crack. When he repaired it there was a question about whether he was going to do a bridge or not and I told him just do the bridge if you think it’s going to need it but he ended up doing the filling and he said it would last for a long time which it has, fingers crossed.