A Wisconsin dentist was sentenced to over 4 and a half years on July 15 after intentionally breaking patients’ teeth.
Scott Charmoli of Jackson, Wisconsin, was found guilty of five counts of health care fraud and two counts of making false statements to insurance companies, Justice Department announced Wednesday. The former dentist “aggressively sold crowns to patients and then intentionally broke their teeth with his drill” in order to get insurance to pay out for the crowns.
GREAT BOOKHAM, UNITED KINGDOM – APRIL 19: A denture model and dentist’s tools are displayed on April 19, 2006 in Great Bookham, England. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman focused on the dentist’s intent to cause harm for the sake of fraud, describing Charmoli as “persuading,” “badgering,” and “shaming” patients, according to the attorney office’s press release. Many patients also faced hefty out-of-pocket expenses for crown procedures, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. (RELATED: Mom Takes 3-Year-Old To Dentist, ’30 Minutes Later They Brought Her Back Dead’)
Evidence presented at Charmoli’s trial indicated a crown procedure rate that far exceeded most Wisconsin dentists, according to WTMJ-TV Milwaukee. An insurance company representative testified that an average Wisconsin dentist installed less than 6 crowns per 100 patients, compared to Charmoli’s whopping 32 completed crowns per 100 patients in 2019, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
“It was never my intent to harm anyone in any way,” Charmoli said.