Dentist (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
#Roommates, people are officially doing the most in the worst ways possible. Most people expect to receive professional and accurate service when visiting the dentist, but one Alaska dentist took things way too far when he rode a hoverboard during surgery back in 2016—and now he’s facing 43 charges as his trial finally begins.
@NBCNews reports, 34-year-old former dentist Dr. Seth Lookhart is currently facing dozens of charges after he filmed himself riding a hoverboard while performing surgery on a patient in 2016. Lookhart, who has since had his dental license suspended, committed several crimes according to prosecutors, that go well beyond his hoverboard antics, including sedating clients using costly, unnecessary IV instead of using local anesthesia. This faulty procedure allowed him to engage in “a scheme to cut out his partners by billing Medicaid under a different provider ID and sending the money directly to his home.”
Lookhart’s other charges stem from his alleged involvement in stealing approximately $250,000 from his dental partners and being paid by Medicaid approximately $1.8 million for IV sedation services due to his fraudulent business practices. Lookhart has pleaded not guilty to all 43 of his charges. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $100,000 and restitution to those he defrauded, which could total up to $2.5 million.
Lookhart’s office manager Shauna Leigh Cranford is also charged because she allegedly worked with the disgraced dentist to introduce IV sedation at the dental office and participated in procedures despite not having a license to practice dentistry.
The patient who Lookhart operated on while riding the hoverboard, Veronica Wilhelm, had this to say to him in court:
“I have empathy, so I feel for you. I don’t feel bad for what you did on the hoverboard, just I think you could’ve made better choices. Probably could’ve been a really good dentist. I don’t have anything bad to say about taking out my tooth, I appreciate that, but I just think that what you did was outrageous, narcissistic and crazy. I forgive you for all of that, but there’s obviously a high-priced lesson that you’re going to have to learn.”
She is a lot more forgiving than we would be if it were our dentist.
Roommates, what are your thoughts on this?
