A Hoverboarding Dentist? Alaska Man Convicted Of ‘Unlawful Dental Acts’ After Video Released
A dentist from Anchorage, Alaska, has been found guilty on 46 counts of unlawful dental practices stemming from a video showing him riding a hoverboard as he extracted a patient’s tooth.
Seth Lookhart, 34, shot the video in July 2016, which he shared with numerous acquaintances and jokingly referred to as the “new standard of care.”
“Seth Lookhart performed a dental extraction procedure on a sedated patient while riding a hoverboard and filmed the procedure and distributed the film to persons outside his dental practice,” charging documents in Lookhart’s case state.
The release of the video led to a broader investigation into Lookhart’s misconduct. The charges against him eventually grew to include a plan to defraud Medicaid of at least $1.8 million and stealing $250,000 from partners. He is also accused of needlessly sedating patients for certain procedures and billing taxpayers $10,000 for them. Lookhart’s dental license has since been suspended by the Alaska Dental Board.
“What you did was outrageous, narcissistic and crazy,” Veronica Wilhelm, the patient from the video, said in court.
Lookhart’s trial began on Nov. 12. Lookhart is scheduled for sentencing on April 30.
His attorney, Paul Stockler, apologized in court for his client’s “idiotic” behavior, specifically referring to the hoverboard incident, but also argued that Lookhart and his secretary, Shauna Cranford, never falsified Medicaid claims, as they were accused of. Cranford previously accepted a consolidated plea deal on 40 charges.
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