Some 300 former patients of Allcare Dental & Dentures in Indiana will receive refunds after the chain abruptly closed its offices in 2011, leaving patients stranded.
Many Allcare patients used a healthcare credit card to finance dental procedures and dentures, and the closures allegedly left the patients with high interest rate payments and without their dentures or completed dental care, according to a Legal Newsline story.
Allcare President Robert Bates, DDS, surrendered his Indiana dental license in August after abruptly closing his six offices. Last week, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced the recovery of partial or total refunds for Dr. Bates' former patients.
The 294 consumers who filed complaints have received more than $543,350 from the state's consumer protection fund. Patients who received the payments alleged losses of more than $642,600 to Allcare, the story said.
The attorney general got a consent judgment against Allcare last year, but the company declared bankruptcy and consumer restitution went unpaid.
Dr. Bates has also faced licensing actions for similar violations in Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia. In May 2012, Dr. Bates surrendered his New Hampshire dental license to resolve allegations of professional misconduct by the state dental board.
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