It’s a trademark of digital natives to overshare information and images. They’re young enough to have not known a time before people instantly shared video and images of everything from what they had for breakfast to bathroom selfies. (Too much information if you ask me.)
A young dentist in Alaska took this Millennial impulse to a new level when, after sedating a patient, performed a tooth extraction while riding a hoverboard. (And this gets better…) He then sent the video to his friends – and billed Medicaid for the procedure.
A judge found Seth Lookhart, 34, guilty of 46 counts involving “unlawful dental acts,” reckless endangerment, and Medicaid fraud. Prosecutors said the Anchorage dentist needlessly sedated patients, and then billed the government for more than $10,000 for those procedures. Because private insurance usually does not cover sedation, Lookhart offered patients a flat $450 fee, while billing Medicaid more than $2,000.
In the hoverboard incident, phone records show that Lookhart texted the video to at least eight people and joked that his actions were “a new standard of care.” (Imagine what the video has done to increase the anxiety of people already nervous about going to the dentist.) The Alaska Dental Board has suspended his license.
Lookhart is scheduled to be sentenced in April. Each misdemeanor medical assistance fraud charge carries up to a year in jail and a $25,000 fine.
Today’s Fraud of the Day comes from the article, “Hoverboarding dentist found guilty of ‘unlawful dental acts,'” published Jan. 18, 2020 on nbcnews.com.
An Anchorage dentist captured on video extracting the tooth of a sedated patient as he rode a hoverboard has been found guilty by a judge of 46 counts levied against him after the incident expanded into a wider probe of his practices.
The Friday guilty findings against Seth Lookhart, 34, included counts of “unlawful dental acts,” reckless endangerment and Medicaid fraud, according to NBC affiliate KTUU in Anchorage.
Information in this Fraud of the Day also comes from the article, “Dentist who pulled teeth while riding hoverboard is grounded,” published Jan. 21, 2020 in theguardian.com.
