Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to give you the reality of federal charges against dentists - not the sanitized version dental associations present, not the Hollywood fiction, but the actual truth about what happens when federal prosecutors decide to target a dental practice. What you think you know about this area is probably wrong in ways that could cost you everything.
Most dentists who end up facing federal charges believed it could never happen to them. They were good dentists. They cared about their patients. They built their practices over decades of hard work. And then one day, federal agents showed up at their office or home, and everything they had built began to collapse. The thing they all have in common is this: they thought federal charges were about bad dentistry. They were wrong.
Federal prosecutors dont care if you're a good dentist. They care about paper. The billing codes you submitted. The DEA number on every prescription you wrote. The tax returns you signed. That is what sends dentists to federal prison - documentation, not clinical care.
What Federal Charges Against Dentists Actually Look Like
If your thinking federal charges against dentists involve some kind of patient harm case - a botched procedure, an infection that went wrong, something clinical - your operating under a fundamental misunderstanding. Those are civil matters. Malpractice. State licensing board issues. Federal prosecutors dont typically get involved in those situations because there is no federal hook.
Federal charges require federal jurisdiction. That means the alleged crime has to involve federal programs like Medicare or Medicaid, cross state lines, involve the mail or wire communications for fraud, or violate federal statutes like the Controlled Substances Act or tax code. When a dentist faces federal charges, its almost always about one of three things: healthcare fraud, controlled substance violations, or tax evasion.
Different universe. What makes federal prosecution different from state prosecution is scale and resources. Federal prosecutors have essentially unlimited resources. They have FBI agents, IRS Criminal Investigation, DEA investigators, HHS Office of Inspector General agents. They have forensic accountants who can trace every dollar you ever touched. They have years to build a case before they ever let you know your being investigated.
Here is something most dentists dont understand until its too late: by the time you find out your a target, the government has probably been building their case for 18 to 36 months. They have already subpoenaed your billing records, your prescription data, your bank statements. They have probably already talked to former employees. They may have already interviewed patients. The investigation happened in secret, using your own records as the primary evidence.
The Three Doorways to Federal Prison
Healthcare Fraud
The most common pathway to federal prison for dentists is healthcare fraud. This includes billing for services not rendered, upcoding to get higher reimbursements, unbundling procedures that should be billed together, and billing for medically unnecessary services. If your submitting claims to Medicaid, Medicare, or any federally-funded insurance program, every claim you submit is potentialy a federal crime if its false.
The False Claims Act allows the government to pursue civil penalties of $12,537 to $25,076 per false claim, plus treble damages - three times the amount of the fraudulent claims. Thats civil. Criminal healthcare fraud charges carry sentences of up to 10 years per count. If someone dies as a result of the fraud, that becomes life in prison.
According to the US Sentencing Commission, 395 healthcare fraud cases were sentenced in fiscal year 2024. Of the 330 open investigations HHS Office of Inspector General reported on dentists in 2022, that represents only 0.2 percent of the approximately 200,000 dentists in the United States. Experts say dental fraud is historicaly under-investigated - which means enforcement is increasing, not decreasing.
A Texas dental clinic operator was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for a $6.9 million fraud scheme. A California dentist got convicted for defrauding Medi-Cal of nearly $800,000. A Maryland dentist was ordered to pay $8.5 million in restitution. These are not small-time cases. These are career-ending, life-destroying prosecutions.
Controlled Substance Violations
Every prescription you write with your DEA number creates a permanent federal record. The DEA tracks prescribing patterns. They use algorithms to identify outliers. They receive complaints from pharmacies, patients, and employees. When they decide to investigate a dentist, they already have access to years of prescription data before they ever contact you.
The DEA can impose fines of up to $14,502 per violation. Multiple violations commonly charged in a single investigation means potential penalties in the hundreds of thousands. But fines are the least of your concerns. The DEA has authority to issue an Immediate Suspension Order - which halts your ability to prescribe controlled substances without prior notice. For an oral surgeon or any dentist doing sedation work, thats effectivley the end of your practice overnight.
Heres the thing about drug diversion cases. An Illinois dentist named Phillip Jensen was sentenced in December 2024 to 15 years in federal prison. Fifteen years. What did he do? He stole fentanyl from the vials he was supposed to be giving patients. He would remove the safety caps, withdraw half the fentanyl, refill the vials with saline, and glue the caps back on. Patients woke up screaming during surgery. Over 99 victims. Forty grams of fentanyl diverted for personal use. When one patient regained consciousness mid-procedure, he hit her in the head with an instrument and finished the surgery anyway.
Thats an extreme case. But it shows what federal drug charges against dentists can look like when the DEA builds a complete case.
Tax Evasion
Tax issues seem civil until there not. The IRS has a Criminal Investigation division specifically for tax crimes. When they identify a dentist hiding income - unreported cash, money moved to family accounts, abusive tax shelters - they can pursue criminal prosecution.
Ryan Ulibarri was a Fort Collins dentist who ran a successful family practice. In 2016, he bought what promoters called a "trust tax shelter" for $50,000. He used it to hide over $5 million in income from 2016 through 2023. He evaded more then $1.6 million in federal and state taxes. In June 2025, he was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison.
Stop and think about that for a second. A trusted accountant or financial advisor probably told him this was legal. Maybe he beleived them. Maybe he thought everyone did it. Dosent matter. Forty-one months in federal prison. His dental license at risk. His reputation destroyed. His family devastated. All because of paperwork.
Derald Geddes in Utah got five years for evading $1.8 million. Frantz Brignol in Florida got two years for hiding money in his mothers bank accounts. Boulos Hanna in Connecticut got 10 months for simply not filing returns. The pattern is clear: IRS Criminal Investigation pursues dentists, and the sentences are real prison time.
How Federal Investigations Build for Years Before You Know
This is were most dentists make their fatal mistake. They think investigations are like what they see on TV - police show up, ask questions, you explain yourself, and either your arrested on the spot or cleared. Nothing could be further from how federal investigations actualy work.
Federal investigations are marathon efforts. They start with something triggering scrutiny - maybe an algorithm flagged unusual billing patterns, maybe a disgruntled employee called a tip line, maybe a routine audit revealed irregularities. Whatever the trigger, investigators then spend months or years gathering evidence before you ever know.
Your billing records are subpoenaed from insurance companies. Not from you - you dont even know its happening. Your bank records are obtained through grand jury subpoenas to your banks. Your prescription history comes directly from DEA databases. Your employee records, your patient records, correspondence, emails - investigators can obtain all of this without ever talking to you or your lawyer.
They interview your staff. Not as suspects - as witnesses. People who worked for you, who you trusted, are sitting in FBI field offices answering questions about your billing practices, your prescribing habits, how you handled cash. Some of them might be cooperating in exchange for immunity or reduced exposure.
By the time federal agents show up at your door or your lawyer gets a target letter, the investigation is essentially complete. They are not there to investigate - they are there to arrest, to execute search warrants, to seize assets. The time to have influenced the outcome was months or years ago. The window you didnt know existed has already closed.
The 93% Federal Conviction Rate and Why It Matters
According to Department of Justice statistics, the federal conviction rate exceeds 93 percent. In 2018, only 320 of 79,704 federal defendants - fewer then one percent - went to trial and won their cases. Not won at trial. Won at all, in any form.
Let that sink in. Ninety-seven percent of federal defendants plead guilty. Of the three percent who go to trial, most are convicted anyway. The actual acquittal rate in federal court is below one percent.
Not a typo. Real numbers. Why is the federal conviction rate so high? Its not because federal prosecutors are smarter then state prosecutors. Its because of case selection. Federal prosecutors have the resources to investigate cases for years before charging. They dont charge cases they might lose. By the time they bring charges, theyve already built a case they are confident will result in conviction.
What this means for a dentist facing federal charges is stark. Your case was selected because the government beleives they can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. They had months or years to gather evidence. They chose to prosecute you specifically because they already have what they need.
As Todd Spodek explains to clients facing federal charges, understanding the conviction rate isnt about giving up hope. Its about understanding what your actually dealing with. This isnt state court where maybe the evidence is weak or witnesses dont show up. This is federal court where prosecutors have been preparing for years and have effectively unlimited resources.
What the Trial Penalty Means for Your Case
The trial penalty is the difference in sentence between defendants who plead guilty and defendants who go to trial and lose. According to a 2018 report by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, federal defendants who go to trial and lose recieve sentences roughly three times higher then defendants who plead guilty to the same offense. In some cases, the disparity is eight to ten times higher.
Think about what that means practicaly. If a plea deal offers 24 months, going to trial and losing might mean 72 months. Or more. The system creates massive pressure to plead guilty even for defendants who beleive they are innocent.
This is why 97 percent of federal defendants plead guilty. Not because they all actualy committed crimes. Because the risk of trial is catastrophic. Lose at trial, and your sentence explodes. The rational calculation for most defendants, guilty or innocent, is to negotiate the best plea deal possible and avoid the trial penalty.
For dentists this calculation is even more complicated. Your facing prison time, but your also facing loss of your dental license, exclusion from Medicare and Medicaid programs, civil suits from patients, asset forfeiture, and the destruction of your professional reputation. Even a "successful" outcome - a shorter prison sentence - still means your career as you knew it is over.
Spodek Law Group has handled cases where clients faced these impossible choices. The goal isnt always to "win" in some dramatic courtroom victory. Sometimes the goal is damage control - minimizing the sentence, preserving whats possible to preserve, and planning for what comes after.
The Cascade That Destroys Everything
When federal charges hit a dentist, its not one problem. Its a cascade of interconnected disasters that reinforce each other.
First, there's the criminal case itself. Your arrested or summoned. Your assets may be seized or frozen. You need to retain federal criminal defense counsel - which is expensive, often $100,000 or more for a serious federal case. Your facing potential prison time measured in years.
Simultaneously, your state dental board learns of the charges. Most states have automatic suspension provisions for dentists facing certain felony charges. Even if they dont suspend automaticaly, they open their own investigation. Your dental license - the thing that allows you to earn a living - is now in jeopardy from two directions.
Then the civil suits start. Patients who you billed file fraud suits. If there were any adverse outcomes, malpractice suits follow. Insurance companies sue for recoupment. The government might pursue civil False Claims Act damages on top of criminal penalties.
Your hospital privileges get revoked. Insurance panels drop you. Referral sources disappear. Your practice - which maybe took 20 years to build - collapses in weeks or months. Staff leave because they cant get paid or dont want to be associated with you.
Your personal assets come under attack through forfeiture proceedings. Bank accounts frozen. Home liened. Retirement accounts potentially seized. The government can pursue forfeiture of any property that facilitated the crime or represents proceeds of the crime.
And through all of this, your family watches. Your spouse, your children, see their lives dismantled. Marriages dont always survive this kind of pressure. Kids get pulled out of schools. Community relationships disintegrate.
Gets darker. This cascade is why federal charges against dentists are so devastating. Its not just prison. Its the simultaneous collapse of everything you built: your freedom, your license, your practice, your assets, your reputation, your relationships.
Real Cases: What Got These Dentists Sent to Federal Prison
Looking at actual cases helps understand how these situations develop and what the consequences look like.
Phillip Jensen - Springfield, Illinois (2024): Jensen diverted fentanyl from patient vials for his own addiction, replacing it with saline. Patients underwent oral surgery without adequate pain management. Over 99 victims. When one patient woke up mid-procedure, he struck her in the head. Sentenced to 15 years in federal prison plus a $200,000 fine. His case demonstrates how drug addiction can lead to criminal conduct that spirals completely out of control.
Ryan Ulibarri - Fort Collins, Colorado (2025): Purchased a $50,000 "abusive trust" tax shelter. Used it to hide over $5 million in income from 2016 to 2023. Evaded $1.6 million in taxes. Sentenced to 41 months in federal prison. His case shows how tax avoidance schemes that seem sophisticated can be federal crimes.
Dr. Jason DiBlasi - Nassau County, New York (2022): Charged with 113 counts of Criminal Sale of a Prescription for a Controlled Substance for a four-year opioid prescription scheme. Facing up to five and a half years if convicted. His case demonstrates how prescribing patterns create the paper trail that leads to prosecution.
Texas Dental Clinic Operator (2024): Sentenced to 60 months for a $6.9 million pediatric dental fraud scheme. Billed Medicaid for services not rendered or not medically necessary. His case shows the scale of healthcare fraud prosecutions against dental providers.
Pattern emerges. These cases share common elements. Paper trails that investigators followed. Behavior that continued for years before detection. Severe consequences once charges were filed. And in every case, the dentist probably thought they were being careful or that what they were doing wasnt really that serious.
The Window Thats Already Closing
If your reading this because you recieved a target letter, because federal agents contacted you, or because your worried about practices at your office - understand that time is the most critical factor you face.
Federal investigations dont announce themselves. By the time you know your a target, months or years of evidence gathering have already occurred. The government has your records. They have witness statements. They have formed conclusions about your conduct.
What you do in the next 48 to 72 hours can significanly impact your outcome. Getting experienced federal criminal defense counsel immediately - before you talk to anyone, before you make statements, before you try to "explain" anything - is the most important step you can take.
Todd Spodek and the team at Spodek Law Group understand what dentists face in federal investigations. We know how these cases are built, what the government looks for, and how to mount effective defenses. We have seen what works and what makes things worse.
The prosecution had years to prepare. You have days. Maybe hours. Use them wisely.
Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196. The consultation is confidential. The clock is running wheather you pick up the phone or not - but picking up the phone gives you options. Not picking up the phone just means the government continues building their case while you do nothing.
They had time. You might not. Every hour matters.
