Poseurs

There’s a shortage of dentists in the Czech Republic so its Parliament passed a law allowing doctors from European Union countries to provide dental services to locals.

An enterprising family saw an opportunity and opened a dental clinic in their home in the central Czech town of Havlickuv Brod in 2023.

The 22-year-old male dentist did checkups, extracted teeth, and did root canals. The 50-year-old woman who had access to anesthetics and other dental material was the nurse, while the 44-year-old man produced prosthetic devices for patients.

In June, police arrested the three upon learning the clinic was not licensed and the staff had no expertise, with the “dentist” going online to obtain information on dental procedures.

Police detained the trio and charged them with doing illegal business, money laundering, attempted battery, drug dealing, and theft, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.

After pleading guilty to the charges, the three were provisionally released but they face up to eight years in prison, police said, according to AFP.

Upstaging the poseur Czech dentist and dental workers was Shannon Nicole Womack, 39, of Pennsylvania, USA.

Pennsylvania State Police arrested Womack during a traffic stop in Cecil Township in April for using false identification, New York Daily News (NYDN) reports.

When officers searched her car, they found 20 IDs and seven different Social Security numbers with Womack’s name on them, police spokesperson Rocco Gagliardi said, according to NYDN.

Despite not being licensed to practice medicine in any US state, Womack allegedly worked nursing shifts at facilities in Allegheny, Erie, Washington, Beaver, Bradford and Westmoreland counties.

Womack is facing charges of identity theft, falsely pretending to hold a license, and endangering the welfare of a care-dependent person, ABC News reports, citing court records.