Here’s a horror story straight out of your weirdest Mountain Dew-fuelled nightmare: An Alaskan dentist recently charged with Medicaid fraud is also accused of pulling out an unconscious patient’s tooth while on a hoverboard. Radical!
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On Monday, Seth Lookhart was charged with 17 counts of Medicaid fraud and “unlawful dental acts” after he allegedly billed $US1.8 million ($2.4 million) in IV sedation for procedures that didn’t require it. Investigators say they also found a video on Lookhart’s phone of him extracting a patient’s tooth while riding a self-balancing scooter.
The indictment claims that Lookhart texted the video to his office manager, joking that the procedure represented a “new standard of care“. When interviewed by authorities, the patient reportedly said she did not know about Lookhart’s behaviour.
The office manager, Shauna Cranford, is facing her own set of 16 charges, 10 of which are felonies. In another colourful moment from the indictment, Lookhart allegedly allowed his office manager remove two teeth despite the fact that she did not have a medical licence. The prosecutors allege that Cranford was the person who first convinced Lookhart to use IV sedation more frequently than it was required.
If Lookhart is convicted, he will face up to 10 years in gaol, up to $US100,000 ($132,699) in fines, and be ordered to repay Medicaid and affected defendants as much as $US2.5 million ($3.3 million) in fees, according to KTUU.
We reached out to Lookhart’s attorney Michael Moberly for comment, but had not heard back at time of writing.