A hygienist writes to me from prison


Introduction

Cherie R. Dillon is currently serving a 5 year sentence in a federal prison for healthcare fraud and identity theft.  The only public information about her case (besides my previous blog post) comes from the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release and some media reports that seem to be primarily based on that press release.

Cherie’s husband came across my blog post about her case and mailed it to her.  He then contacted me to share some inside information about the case and to tell me that Cherie wanted to share her side of the story with the hope that I would share it.  

Below is the letter Cherie sent me.  The original letter is hand written and a little difficult to read, so I had to transcribe it here for those not reading it on a desktop computer : ).  

Before reading Cherie’s letter I would recommend reading the US Attorney’s Office press release and the newspaper article linked below for context.

Links

Fruitland Woman Sentenced to 60 Months for Health Care Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft

Idaho dental hygienist who posed as a dentist sent to prison

 

Cherie’s Letter

Mark Frias,

My husband sent me your blog.  I never thought I would be where I am at 62 years of age.  When I retired I had wanted to advocate for dental hygiene independence/practitioner.

Things are not always as they might lead you to believe in the news.  Thank you for giving me this opportunity to respond.  

In 2005 Dr. Fricke / Dr. Carroll and myself wanted to open a mom and pop dental office in Payette, Idaho.  We collaborated with an attorney and an accountant / manager.  Dr. Fricke had sold his practice in Boise, but he still wanted to work on a limited basis.  

Having consulted with the attorney it was decided (because there was a lot of gray area in the Idaho code which said you must be in the dental profession to own a dental office) that we would put the office in my name.  Dr. Fricke only wanted to do the actual dentistry.  

I agreed that I would be responsible for everything else.  It was a great opportunity for me and I loved the challenge.  I never had any idea I would end up in prison because of this.  The first 2 years I did not make anything, but everything got paid and that was good.  I knew it was going to be like that and we lived off what my husband made from his military retirement.  

The first few years went fine.  I would see the patients first to screen them and then set them up with the dentist for the work to be done.  About 6 years in Dr. Fricke’s health started to fail.  It started off with little things which snowballed into much more.  Sometimes he didn’t show up for work, other times he came and started a procedure only to tell me “You can finish this and I will check it when it is done”.

We went along like that for a awhile.  It came to the point when I just could not do it anymore and told Dr. Fricke we needed to hire some fill in dentists and we did.  It was his intention to get better and continue to work.  The contracting dentists knew they were filling in for him and that he told me to continue to bill everything out under the umbrella “Dental Healthcare with Heart” Dr. Fricke’s office.  

This is where the fraud comes in.  Even though Dr. Fricke said to bill it like that it was considered fraud because the other dentists’ names were not on the insurance form.  The identity theft was thrown on top of the counts because I used his stamp signature.  Again with him knowing everything that was going on.  

I went to his house every Wednesday with all the charts and x-rays, charts and impressions for him to review.  I would chart his notes and suggestions on the treatment plan and then give those charts/ x-rays, etc. to the attending dentist telling them this is what Dr. Fricke saw, but if they saw something different then absolutely do it their way.  

I will admit that I lead the contracting dentists to believe Dr. Fricke was there every week even though he came sporadically.  He did see the x-rays and charts BEFORE the attending dentist did.  It all blew up when one of our employees was caught phoning in prescriptions for herself and her boyfriend for Vicodin.  

In comes the Board of Dentistry, the Board of Pharmacy and the FBI.  There is so much more to tell you, but I guess the details can wait for another time.  I NEVER TOLD ANYONE I WAS A DENTIST!  In fact I ALWAYS said I am just the hygienist, but this is what I think.  I would then call Dr. Fricke and get permission to phone in the prescription.  NOTHING WAS EVER BILLED OUT THAT WAS NOT DONE.  

We worked on people who had no money for little or nothing.  One woman we traded pies for dentistry.  Others were just free.  We did not turn people away.  Yes, I did do things beyond the scope a dental hygienist is allowed to do.  But a lot of the [criminal] charges came from billing out an exam and cleaning when the dentist was not there.  

Dr. Fricke had taught me how to do a lot and he knew I would do it right because I was a perfectionist.  So fast forward to me getting an attorney who told me you cannot talk to the Attorney General’s Office which is what I wanted to do in the first place without immunity and they would not agree to that.  

We closed Dental Healthcare with Heart December 2013.  Two years pass without hearing anymore and then I got more papers and a different attorney who I thought was better, but he was not.  The trial started in January 2016.  

All I ever wanted to do was tell someone what happened, but no one wanted to hear it.  On day 4 of the trial I wanted to pull my hair out.  My attorney was not questioning or redirecting.  He sighed and set back on his chair in defeat.  Then he talked to the prosecutor and came back and said I did not have a chance and to just plead guilty and they wouldn’t go after anything else and it would just be 2 years.  

Well, that did not happen!  At sentencing the judge chastised my supporters (close to 75 people) and their support (friends, families, Drs. all wrote letters) and told me it was going to be 5 years and 1.5 million dollars.  I could not believe it.  

You see stuff like this on 20/20 or Dateline or 60 minutes.  We never made that kind of money during the whole time we had the office.  You might be at this point wondering why I pleaded guilty.  Because the attorney told me to and I was just at the end of my rope.  I should have never pleaded guilt.  

Now I am in prison for 5 years (my husband and I are also raising our 3-year-old grandson) and now it is just my husband.  You can never imagine how stressful court is and the embellishing of small things and then calling it the truth.  And the threats to people to get them to testify.  

If I could go back I would have done things differently.  I thought Dr. Fricke and I were friends (NOT).  He threw me under the bus.  The judge also told me I could never work in health care again.  I wouldn’t want to… I am trading my advocacy from dental hygienist to prison reform.  That is a whole other story.  

This is no place for old women.  There are no programs, the guards and staff are hostile, all I do is eat and sleep and unfortunately the tax payers are paying for it.  I hope to see some version of this letter in your blog.  

Tell Angie, Teresa, Meg LeMaster that if anything rings true I would like to hear their comments.  This is my interpretation of what really happened.  You never should judge someone without hearing both sides!

Cherie Dillon, RDH

30 thoughts on “A hygienist writes to me from prison

    • Hi Deborah,

      I’ve been communicating through Cherie’s husband. He’s been having trouble getting snail mail from her the last time we communicated. Let me get permission from him and I’ll post her address and his email here when I get the ok.

    • I don’t have permission to share her info as Mark intends, but I DEFINITELY know that communications with the Free World is so extremely important for inmates. Inmates don’t usually receive much correspondence at all, and staying in touch with the Free World helps to keep them connected, and have some relief, and make their time more tolerable. You can look up all inmates online. For federal you want https://www.bop.gov/mobile/find_inmate/ Just enter Cherie’s name, and you’ll find the inmate number and facility. For the address use full name, inmate number, facility name and facility address. You can also email via corrlinks.com. I personally am writing her this week. Generally all mail from the Free World is so so so appreciated. Thank you for wanting to write a letter. 🙂

    • To make it easier, here is the address info for FCI Dublin: INMATE NAME & REGISTER NUMBER
      FCI DUBLIN
      FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
      5701 8TH ST – CAMP PARKS
      DUBLIN, CA 94568

      If you want to send anything other than a letter or photo, READ the guidelines online!

  1. Hi Mark. My heart is saddened of learning of Cherie’s fate. She was so ill prepared to undertake what she thought was going to work. A great book for Dental Hygienists who are looking for various ideas to practice our profession was written by Regina A. Dreyer, RDH. My story is in the book with the heading; RDH as Practice Owner.

  2. I’m thrilled she wrote to you. The system is not set up for folks who are “not guilty”. I hope she pursues action against her lawyer for his disgusting lack of action. I always say to myself and others, get both sides of a story. And of course, document everything. I’m sorry she is going through this and hope there is a way to reach out to her.

  3. Omg. This is awful. Try to help people and it back fires. As hygienists we are naturally caring people and wanting to help people. We do things that are sometimes beyond our scope of practice for the sake of helping. And look at this lady good deed.

  4. I also am glad to finally hear the other side of the story. Journalism sensationalism. Sad when someone was really trying to do a mission trip in her home area.

    • My name is Trish and I am very close to Dublin, Ca. I would love to visit Cherie if she would like a visit from a sister hygienist.
      We all go above and beyond to assist the people in need. This story is so wrong and makes me question what is really important in todays world.
      Let me know if I can reach out and visit.
      Trish Riley, RDH

      • You may have to write her first to see if she can add you to her visit list. Then fill out the paper work. Usually takes about 6 weeks to get approved.

  5. This story is sad. I must admit that I do and don’t feel sorry for her. She did know better. The one thing I’ve learned in my career is to trust no one. You know the old saying, “Love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe”. At the end of the day, when things go awry, everyone is going to try and save their own ass. I have always had very strong ethics and it has cost me getting jobs and staying at jobs. I’ve had many dentists try and get me to work out of my scope and bend some rules and I just won’t do it. Where I feel sorry for this woman is her honesty and naivety. I am a huge believer that “the truth will set you free”. The truth not only sets your conscience free, but it gains you more respect and integrity. I won’t judge this woman. She made a big mistake and she’s paying a lot for it and teaching others in her profession a hard lesson. She’s a bit of a martyr. Cherie, thank you for sharing your story. I know things are bad for you and your family at the moment, but you will turn it around. If anything, consider penning your entire experience and writing a book, maybe that will help your financial situation. I’d sit and read it.

  6. I am so saddened for the harsh sentencing. Was she irresponsible? Yes. Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements will get even the most honest practitioners in hot water if they’re not meticulous with their documentation, so it’s no surprise that she became the fall guy for everyone else involved in this situation.

    Thank you Mark for sharing her side – we can all put ourselves in her shoes this way.

  7. Thank you for sharing this! I agree, trust no one, especially in business. It is best to work with the highest ethics, do you job and take care of your patients. I do hope she fights back because in several ways, she was wronged. I get why she is there but she should have had someone to stand up for her and fight back!

  8. Five years and $1.5 million??!! This is excessive. This is so wrong that I wish there could be a national outcry. (My good friend, Dr. Roy Shelburne, did TWO years in a federal prison for a conviction of Medicaid fraud, another case of an excessive sentence for poor record-keeping.) When I first read the account of a hygienist going to prison, the report made it sound like she was impersonating a dentist and doing all kinds of dentistry for the purpose of enriching her bank account. Thanks, Mark, for sharing this story. Cherie deserves lots of compassion, IMHO.

  9. Thank you Mark for sharing her story. There are always two sides to every story. Yes, the US Attorney depicted her as a scheming fraudulent individual, when she was not that person at all. It is a shame that the US Attorney’s office couldn’t have been more creative in their sentencing. How about community service? How about continuing to help dental patients of low income under direct supervision of a local dentist for minimal to zero pay? or community service not in dentistry but some other aspect. Prison is not the place for a 62 year old woman. 1.5 million to repay? Seriously? She didn’t keep it to get rich, the patients got treatment didn’t they? It was billed out from the office. She doesn’t have the 1.5 million in her bank. She simply helped people. Shame on her boss for turning on her to save his own skin. Trust no one like a previous blogger stated. Her heart got the better of her instead of her head. I disagree with the sentencing and the amount of money to repay. Possibly repay the cost of the trial. But Medicaid already paid for services rendered and services were actually rendered, albeit not by the actual dentist, but by a temp dentist or her. Nothing was billed that didn’t happen.

  10. As a fellow Dental hygienist, my heart breaks that she has to go through with this. She spent many of her years truly caring for people. That’s a given when you trade pies and other simple things for services for the poor. My heart truly aches for her. Most people don’t know what we go through as a dental hygienist, so it tends to be a thankless profession. This is NOT justice. This is politics. It’s simply dentists trying to stick it to the hygienists and keep them under their thumb. They know we bring the money to them, so it scares the living shit out of them to think we’d have independent practices. Dr. Fricke is the Coward here.

  11. The Idahostatesman reported other details of Mrs. Dilion’s case. The article accuses her of pleading guilty to performing extractions and fillings. If true, these actions are not excusable.

  12. I think the idea of opening up a practice to help the less fortunate is a great idea! I am a very ethical person when it comes to my job as a dental hygienist and I could never cross over those lines of justice! No matter what! You know what the right thing to do is and the right protocol is! No excuses! If the Dentist is sick and disabled let him go permanently and let’s get a new dentist to replace him and change the name on the forms! Never ever would I do a Dentists job! No way! Patients life and care come first always!!!!!!! She was wrong!!!

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