In this episode, David Harris shares the evolution of embezzlement detection in dental practices, the role of technology, and how Prosperident has grown to help practices prevent fraud. Discover insights into criminal thinking, technological challenges, and proactive strategies to safeguard your practice.

Show Links:

Prosperident Site: https://www.prosperident.com/

Request a Meeting: https://www.prosperident.com/meetwithdavid

No Risk Self Assessments:

If You Suspect Embezzlement: https://tinyurl.com/embrisk

Want To Check Your Vulnerabilities: https://tinyurl.com/vulnchk

Keywords: dental embezzlement, fraud prevention, investigation, dental practice security

 key topics

• History of dental embezzlement detection
• Growth and evolution of Prosperident
• Impact of technology on fraud schemes
• Proactive fraud prevention strategies

What separates thriving dental practices from struggling ones often comes down to one thing: how effectively the team communicates with patients. In this episode, David Harris sits down with Debra Engelhardt Nash — one of dentistry's most accomplished practice management consultants and co-founder of The Nash Institute — to explore the verbal skills that consistently move patients from hesitation to "yes."

Debra introduces her "Five Killer Questions" framework: a proven set of patient-centered conversations designed to uncover what patients truly value, address unstated concerns, and build the kind of trust that leads to long-term loyalty and higher case acceptance.

Topics covered include:

• Why most dental communication inadvertently creates patient resistance
• The psychology behind why patients say no to recommended treatment
• How to discover what each patient actually cares about before presenting treatment
• The five questions that consistently convert hesitation into acceptance
• Team training strategies to embed stronger communication practice-wide
• The direct link between patient communication skills and practice profitability

About Debra Engelhardt Nash: Debra is a nationally recognized speaker, author, and dental practice management consultant with over 40 years of experience transforming practices across North America. As co-founder of The Nash Institute, she brings unparalleled expertise in the human side of dentistry.

To learn more about protecting your dental practice from embezzlement and financial threats, visit www.prosperident.com or schedule a consultation at www.prosperident.com/meetwithdavid.

What happens when a trusted dental team member turns criminal? In this gripping episode, Dr. Deborah Staten of Las Vegas joins Prosperident senior investigator Scott Clifford to recount one of the most striking embezzlement cases in recent dental history.

Danielle Powers, a dental office employee trusted with financial responsibilities, systematically stole over $250,000 from Dr. Staten's practice. But the story doesn't end there — after leaving Dr. Staten's practice, Powers went on to victimize another dentist. She is currently serving an 8-year prison sentence for her crimes.

Beyond the facts of the case, this episode delivers something invaluable: Dr. Staten's hard-won wisdom for other dentists. Having lived through the shock, betrayal, and financial devastation of embezzlement, she speaks candidly about the warning signs she missed, the decisions she wishes she had made differently, and the message she wants every dental practice owner to hear.

Topics covered include:

• How Danielle Powers gained access and trust within the practice
• The specific methods used to steal and conceal the theft
• Why embezzlers often move from one victim to the next
• The investigation process and how the theft was ultimately discovered
• The criminal justice outcome and what it means for victims seeking accountability
• Dr. Staten's direct advice to dentists on preventing what happened to her

About Scott Clifford: Scott is a senior forensic investigator at Prosperident, North America's leading firm specializing in dental embezzlement investigation. With years of experience examining financial crimes in dental practices, Scott brings both technical expertise and deep empathy to every case he handles.

If you suspect embezzlement in your dental practice, do not confront the suspect or alter your office procedures before speaking with a professional. Contact Prosperident at www.prosperident.com or schedule a consultation at www.prosperident.com/meetwithdavid.

Three of dentistry's leading specialists in practice protection come together for a candid roundtable on the challenges confronting dental practice owners today. David Harris of Prosperident, Adrienne Twigg of Bent Ericksen & Associates, and Erik Pook of Cirrus Group each bring a distinct and vital perspective — financial forensics, human resources and employment law, and commercial real estate — to a wide-ranging discussion that every practice owner needs to hear.

Whether you are an established practice owner or newly starting out, the threats explored in this conversation can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars or even your practice itself. The good news: with the right knowledge, most of these risks are entirely preventable.

Topics covered include:

• Embezzlement: how it starts, why it often goes undetected for years, and what to do about it
• Hiring mistakes that introduce financial and legal risk into your practice
• The most common employment law pitfalls dental practices walk into
• Commercial lease terms that quietly devastate practice value and profitability
• How to evaluate your current lease and what leverage you actually have
• Practical steps to reduce vulnerability across all three risk categories

About the guests:

• David Harris, CEO of Prosperident, is North America's leading dental embezzlement investigator with over three decades of experience protecting dental practices.
• Adrienne Twigg is a senior consultant with Bent Ericksen & Associates, a firm specializing in human resources and employment compliance for dental practices across the United States.
• Erik Pook is a principal at Cirrus Group, experts in dental and medical commercial real estate, lease negotiation, and practice transitions.

To learn more about protecting your practice from embezzlement, visit www.prosperident.com or schedule a consultation at www.prosperident.com/meetwithdavid.

She was trusted completely. She was there every day. And she was stealing — for years. In this deeply personal episode, Virginia orthodontist Dr. David Hughes describes in his own words how his office manager embezzled over $370,000 from his practice, right under his nose.

Dr. Hughes is joined by Prosperident CEO David Harris, senior investigator Wendy Askins, and forensic accountant Amber Weber-Gonzales for a frank and illuminating conversation about how the theft unfolded, how it was discovered, and what the investigation revealed. This is not a hypothetical — it is the real story of a trusted employee who exploited her access and her dentist's trust over an extended period.

Topics covered include:

• How the office manager gained and maintained the trust that made the theft possible
• The specific methods used to steal and hide $370,000 over time
• Warning signs that were present but not recognized
• How the embezzlement was ultimately discovered
• The forensic investigation process and what it uncovered
• The legal outcome and Dr. Hughes's path to recovery
• What Dr. Hughes would do differently — and what he wants other dentists to know

About the Prosperident team: David Harris is CEO and founder of Prosperident; Wendy Askins and Amber Weber-Gonzales are senior members of Prosperident's investigative team, bringing decades of combined experience in dental embezzlement forensics.

If you suspect embezzlement in your dental practice, call Prosperident before taking any action. Visit www.prosperident.com or schedule directly at www.prosperident.com/meetwithdavid.

Dental Support Organizations have reshaped the landscape of dentistry — but are they a lifeline, a trap, or something more complex? In this candid episode, Prosperident's David Harris, Wendy Askins, and Amber Weber sit down with Emmet Scott, CEO of a 70-practice DSO and one of the most influential voices in the DSO industry, for an unvarnished look at what DSOs really mean for dental practice owners.

Emmet Scott brings rare insider perspective: as a DSO executive who has built and managed one of the larger group practices in the country, he understands both the extraordinary opportunities DSOs can offer and the very real risks they present to dentists who don't fully understand what they are signing up for.

Topics covered include:

• What DSOs actually are and the wide spectrum of DSO structures that exist
• The genuine advantages DSOs can offer independent dentists
• The contractual and financial pitfalls that can trap dentists for years
• How to evaluate a DSO affiliation offer before signing anything
• What happens to your autonomy — clinical and financial — inside a DSO
• Embezzlement and financial control in a DSO environment
• How to protect yourself whether you join a DSO or remain independent
• What the future of DSOs looks like and what it means for solo practice

About Emmet Scott: Emmet is the CEO of a 70-practice dental support organization and a recognized thought leader in the DSO space. He is known for his willingness to speak frankly about both the promise and the pitfalls of group dentistry.

To learn more about financial protection for dental practices in DSO and independent settings, visit www.prosperident.com or schedule a consultation at www.prosperident.com/meetwithdavid.

Embezzlement is not just a financial crime — it is a profound personal betrayal. In this deeply moving episode, dentist Dr. Mark Saladin recounts how someone he trusted stole $150,000 from his practice, and what the pursuit of justice meant to him personally and professionally.

What makes this episode extraordinary is its dual perspective. In addition to Dr. Saladin's account, this episode includes audio clips from his embezzler, Miranda Wolf, giving listeners a rare and unsettling glimpse into how an embezzler thinks, rationalizes, and ultimately responds when caught. Together, these two voices illuminate the full arc of a dental embezzlement case from both sides of the crime.

Topics covered include:

• How the theft was carried out and how long it went undetected
• The emotional journey of discovering you have been betrayed by a trusted employee
• Why Dr. Saladin chose to pursue justice rather than settle quietly
• Audio clips from embezzler Miranda Wolf — her mindset, rationalizations, and perspective
• What the investigation and legal process looked like from Dr. Saladin's viewpoint
• The psychological and financial recovery process after embezzlement
• What Dr. Saladin believes other dentists must know before it happens to them

This episode is essential listening for any dental practice owner who has wondered whether reporting embezzlement and pursuing legal consequences is worth the effort. Dr. Saladin's answer — and the contrast provided by his embezzler's own words — is both compelling and instructive.

To learn more about dental embezzlement investigation and how Prosperident can help, visit www.prosperident.com or schedule a consultation at www.prosperident.com/meetwithdavid.

Smart people make dumb mistakes — especially when they're highly trained clinicians running a business they were never taught how to manage. In this entertaining and insight-packed episode, David Harris sits down with Dr. Rich Madow, former practicing dentist, speaker, and co-founder of The Madow Group, to talk candidly about the most common — and costly — mistakes dental practice owners make.

Dr. Madow has spent decades studying what separates the most successful dental practices from the rest. His message is delivered with humor and honesty: even the smartest dentists regularly make preventable business mistakes that quietly erode their profitability, their team culture, and their personal satisfaction.

Topics covered include:

• Why dental school training leaves practitioners unprepared for business ownership
• The most common management mistakes dentists make — and why they keep repeating them
• How to stop being the bottleneck in your own practice
• The hidden costs of employee turnover and how to reduce it
• Production and collection mistakes that drain revenue without most owners noticing
• Why dentists avoid difficult conversations — and how to stop avoiding them
• How to get more enjoyment from your practice while working less hard

About Dr. Rich Madow: Dr. Madow is a former practicing dentist, nationally recognized speaker, and co-founder of The Madow Group — one of dentistry's most respected practice-building resources. He and his brother Dr. David Madow have helped thousands of dentists build more profitable and fulfilling practices. Visit www.madow.com to learn more.

To learn more about protecting your practice from embezzlement and financial risk, visit www.prosperident.com or schedule a consultation at www.prosperident.com/meetwithdavid.

Revenue doesn't just disappear in a single dramatic event — most of the time, it leaks out quietly through gaps in systems, habits, and oversight that busy practice owners never have time to examine. In this episode, David Harris welcomes legendary dental practice management consultant Linda Miles to identify the four most common and costly ways dental practices lose money they never know they're losing.

Linda Miles has spent over 50 years helping dental practices reach their potential. Her observation, honed across thousands of practices, is that the same four structural weaknesses appear again and again — and that fixing them can transform a practice's financial performance without adding a single new patient.

Topics covered include:

• The four specific "leaky holes" draining revenue from most dental practices
• How poor scheduling habits cost practices tens of thousands of dollars per year
• The production and collection gaps that most dentists never measure
• Why undiagnosed or unpresented treatment is one of the biggest hidden revenue losses
• How front desk systems and patient communication affect your bottom line
• Practical, immediate steps to plug each revenue leak
• How embezzlement interacts with and hides behind these systemic weaknesses

About Linda Miles: Linda Miles, CSP, CMC, is one of dentistry's most celebrated practice management consultants, speakers, and authors. With a career spanning more than five decades and thousands of dental teams trained, she is regarded as one of the founding voices of dental practice management as a discipline. Visit www.lindamiles.com for more information.

To learn more about protecting your dental practice's revenue from theft and embezzlement, visit www.prosperident.com or schedule a consultation at www.prosperident.com/meetwithdavid.

Few cautionary tales in dentistry are as powerful — or as instructive — as Dr. Roy Shelburne's. A respected dentist, Dr. Shelburne spent 19 months in federal prison for health care fraud. Today, he has turned that devastating experience into a mission: helping other practitioners understand the legal and regulatory risks that can destroy a career, a practice, and a life.

In this extraordinary episode, Dr. Shelburne sits down with David Harris to share, without holding anything back, what happened, what he missed, what he wishes he had known, and what every dentist in America needs to understand about the laws that govern their practice.

Topics covered include:

• How Dr. Shelburne's situation developed and what the government alleged
• The health care fraud statutes that most dentists are unaware of
• How billing errors — even unintentional ones — can trigger federal scrutiny
• The investigation process and what it is like to be the target of a federal probe
• What 19 months in federal prison taught Dr. Shelburne about life and priorities
• The compliance systems every dental practice must have in place
• Red flags that signal a practice is at risk — and what to do about them
• Dr. Shelburne's message for dentists who believe "it can't happen to me"

This episode is sponsored in part by CareCredit. Prosperident thanks CareCredit for their support of Dr. Shelburne's appearance.

About Dr. Roy Shelburne: Dr. Shelburne is a former practicing dentist, federal prison survivor, and now a speaker and consultant who helps healthcare professionals navigate the complex legal and regulatory environment they operate in. Visit www.royshelburne.com to learn more about his work.

To learn more about protecting your practice from financial and legal risk, visit www.prosperident.com or schedule a consultation at www.prosperident.com/meetwithdavid.