For release on June 6, 2016 CONTACT:
David Soares, Deputy District Attorney
Insurance Fraud Unit
(408) 792-2781 DENTIST CHARGED WITH FRAUD - SUSPECTED OF UNNECESSARY PROCEDURES A longtime Saratoga dentist has been charged with insurance fraud felonies after an investigation discovered that he had performed numerous unnecessary, invasive, and expensive dental treatments on his patients.
One patient had 18 root canals within a period of five years. An average person usually has only one or two such procedures – if any - during their lifetime.
Investigators for the Dental Board have determined that John Roger Lund, 66, may have performed hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of such fraudulent procedures.
Facing 28 counts of insurance fraud, Lund could face up to eight years in prison, if convicted. He will be arraigned today at 1:30 p.m. in Department 23 at the Hall of Justice.
“All of us trust that our dentist is making treatment decisions based on what is best for our well-being,” prosecutor David Soares said. “We would like to thank the state Dental Board for their timely investigation of the complaints in this case.”
The scheme was uncovered in 2012 when a dentist who had purchased Lund’s practice began researching his records. He found numerous examples of patients who seemed to have had unnecessary procedures – including root canals, pulp caps, crowns, and others.
The investigation discovered that Lund was performing some of these procedures on healthy teeth and gums. He would then charge both patients and insurance companies for treatments later deemed to have been unnecessary – or in some cases never to have been performed at all. # # #
David Soares, Deputy District Attorney
Insurance Fraud Unit
(408) 792-2781 DENTIST CHARGED WITH FRAUD - SUSPECTED OF UNNECESSARY PROCEDURES A longtime Saratoga dentist has been charged with insurance fraud felonies after an investigation discovered that he had performed numerous unnecessary, invasive, and expensive dental treatments on his patients.
One patient had 18 root canals within a period of five years. An average person usually has only one or two such procedures – if any - during their lifetime.
Investigators for the Dental Board have determined that John Roger Lund, 66, may have performed hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of such fraudulent procedures.
Facing 28 counts of insurance fraud, Lund could face up to eight years in prison, if convicted. He will be arraigned today at 1:30 p.m. in Department 23 at the Hall of Justice.
“All of us trust that our dentist is making treatment decisions based on what is best for our well-being,” prosecutor David Soares said. “We would like to thank the state Dental Board for their timely investigation of the complaints in this case.”
The scheme was uncovered in 2012 when a dentist who had purchased Lund’s practice began researching his records. He found numerous examples of patients who seemed to have had unnecessary procedures – including root canals, pulp caps, crowns, and others.
The investigation discovered that Lund was performing some of these procedures on healthy teeth and gums. He would then charge both patients and insurance companies for treatments later deemed to have been unnecessary – or in some cases never to have been performed at all. # # #