A former Arkansas dentist who served as an orthodontist, who has since resided in Florida, has been sentenced to one year plus one day in prison and a $157,500 fine for Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Fraud. This was due to the orthodontists involvement in a public corruption scheme that involved a former state senator in the state of Arkansas. The former orthodontist entered into a plea agreement where he plead guility and admitted to hiring the former state senator to influence and request official action to benefit his dental clinics.
The orthodontist owned and operated several orthodontic clinics in Arkansas. He found himself in trouble in 2013 when he was accused by state regulators of allowing his dental hygienists to provide services to patients who were not receiving any orthodontic treatment. At the time a state law known as the Dental Practices Act required dentists who were specialists, including orthodontists, to limit their practices to their specialties and prevented them and their staff from performing other dental work. The orthodontist was not happy about this so he came up with a scheme to get the law changed.
In February 2014, the orthdontist met with the former state senator at restaurant and to discuss his legislative objectives and to seek to hire the former state sentator as his corporate legal counsel. The orthodontist also sent the former state senator an email outlining his legislative objectives which included that he wanted specialty restrictions on orthodontists removed in Arkansas. The orthodontist paid the former state sentator a total of $157,500 with a payment of about $5,000 per month as a general retainer for his legal services for his orthodontal practice and for him to perform “real legal work.” The orthodontist also allegedly provided free orthodontic services to the former state senators family and also the use of a private plane to travel to a college football game.
In January 2015, the former state senator introduced a shell bill titled “An Act to Clarify the Laws Governing Dental Practice” in the Arkansas Senate. In April 2015 and again in September 2015, the former state sentor filed interim study proposals, which proposed to remove the specialist restriction for orthodontists. In 2016 the orthodonist began to grow weary of the ability for the law to changed and texted the former state senator to complain about about a lack of return on investment and wanting more specific updates on his legislative objectives. The interim study proposal filed in September 2017 eventually became filled as House Bill 1250 on January 23, 2017. This bill was later passed in the State of Arkansas and became law on March 15, 2017 and killed the dental specialist restriction in Arkansas.
In 2018 the former state senator was forced to resign after an indictment on U.S. wire and tax fraud charges. The orthodontist sold his business and moved to Florida in the Spring of 2017. It is noted in the press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas that the FBI and IRS helped with this case.
Sources:
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Arkansas, “Florida Dentist Sentenced To 12 Months and a day In Prison For Public Corruption Scheme Involving Former Arkansas State Senator”, January 24, 2022, https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdar/pr/florida-dentist-sentenced-12-months-and-day-prison-public-corruption-scheme-involving
- Lisa Hammersly, “15 charges filed on orthodontist who operated clinics in state; bribes to former Arkansas senator alleged,” Arkansas Demcratic Gazette, August 20, 2019, https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/aug/20/15-charges-filed-on-orthodontist-201908/