Cherie R. Dillon, 62, will spend five years in prison for completing dental procedures that legally could only be performed by a dentist. ...
Dillon drilled and pulled teeth, provided patients at her Payette office with fillings and dentures, and offered other procedures that went far beyond her license as a dental hygienist. Dillon did not attend dental school and did not have a license beyond a hygienist’s....
At the same time, she billed patients for dental hygiene services performed without the supervision and direction of a dentist, required under state law and licensing requirements.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/loca ... 52059.html
Earlier article :
After four days on trial in U.S. District Court in Boise, Dillon suddenly pleaded guilty Friday to two dozen counts of health care fraud and an equal number of counts of aggravated identity theft ...
Dillon founded her Payette practice, Dental Healthcare With Heart, in August 2005. She hired dentists to work for her on a part-time basis in exchange for sharing one-quarter to one-third of the money she took in from health care benefit providers for services provided by the dentists. ...
Dillon took advantage of the condition of one of her contract dentists... In late 2010, [Dr. Theodore] Fricke’s physician certified he was fully disabled for the purpose of disability insurance.
... Dillon renewed Fricke’s dental license and a license for prescribing controlled substances. She even completed online continuing education requirements for Fricke. ...
http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/loca ... rylink=cpy
Dillon fraudulently billed Medicaid and insurance companies for services she said were performed by Fricke between 2010 and 2013, authorities said. She billed $1.5 million during those years, according to court documents
http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/loca ... rylink=cpy
Note a few aspects of this case. The name Cherie means "dear". That well known French name subconsciously encouraged this con-artist's patients to lower their guard and trust her. Then she doubled the receptivity value of her clients - and her contract dentists as well - by giving her business the name Dental Healthcare with Heart. Many people, therefore, would immediately assume that this practice is marked by a high decree of caring for the welfare of its patients. On this basis, many prospective clients assume that the clinic would be automatically above board.
As fake Orthodox elders do, however, these con-artists have a well-oiled machine in place to persuade their target market to place trust in them.
The moral of the story : it might be wiser to scrutinize both dental care practitioners and monastics posing as spiritual fathers and/or guides to be sure their credentials are authentic. And also to not be taken in by a gimmick of 'heart'. I found at least one other similarly named practice, Vision Care with Heart. This might be a new trend in the medical care world.
Let us look for Elders who have REAL heart with no need to advertise such to attract followers in the spiritual marketplace. For getting mixed up with scammers in this sensitive field is potentially far more damaging than paying out some hundreds of dollars in fees to a fraudulent dentist.
In the future, if I see ANY concern called "with Heart", I will assume it might well be empty words. Why would true dentists or eye doctors who care about their patients need to proclaim that in a slogan ? They would demonstrate the caring in action rather than talk about it.
