INDIANAPOLIS ? The head of a well-known dental company has agreed to give up his state dental license after suddenly closing six of his Indiana dentist offices, including one in Mishawaka.
In early 2011, Allcare Dental & Dentures, a former national chain, abruptly shut the doors of its offices in Mishawaka, Fort Wayne, Muncie, Indianapolis, Avon and Evansville.
A complaint was filed claiming Allcare failed to reimburse patients who paid upfront for services that were not finished, not completing dental procedures and failure to provide dentures that were already made.
The state attorney general?s office last month received a consent judgment against Allcare President Robert Bates and the company which called for more than $1.3 million in total restitution to be paid to 443 consumers who filed complaints.
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller says his Consumer Protection Assistance Fund will pay a portion of the restitution still owed.
The CPAF allows the attorney general?s office to use money recovered from judgments against companies that violated consumer protection laws to reimburse consumers in cases where restitution cannot be collected.
The Indiana State Board of Dentistry accepted the agreement reached between Bates and the attorney general?s office which requires him to surrender his dental license and removes his ability to reapply for a license. Last year, Zoeller?s office filed an administrative complaint against Bates for closing his businesses and abandoning hundreds of patients.
?The abrupt closure of these businesses left patients without the promised services, dental devices or refunds,? Zoeller said. ?Today?s licensing action is welcomed as we turn to the patients and make every effort to make them whole again.?
People included in the judgment are eligible to receive reimbursements and should have received a copy of the claim form. Zoeller says his office will begin paying a portion of the restitution to patients once the August 26 claim form deadline has passed.
The amounts to be paid to each eligible consumer will be determined after all of the claim forms have been received.
If you have a question, you can call 1-800-382-5516.
Bates has also faced licensing actions for similar violations in Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia.
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