Texas man accused of stealing $45G for new dentures, cops say
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An unidentified man is accused of taking out a $45,000 loan by using a fake name for a dental procedure he didn't show up for. (Sugar Land PD)
A Texas dentist's office prepared to give a man a new — and very expensive — smile, but instead the staff got a call that made them frown when police revealed the patient was a fraud.
The unidentified man went to Smile Texas in Sugar Land on Nov. 30 for a consultation to receive surgery for new dentures that cost $45,000, according to KHOU. He used a fake name to schedule a procedure time and had his loan approved through an online lending service.
The dentist office even took a photo of the man for their records during the first consultation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After ordering molds and labs and paying surgeons for the operation — tasks that totaled more than $9,800, KHOU reported -- the man didn't show to get his new pearly whites.
When someone with the patient's name finally called back, he told the dentist's office the patient they were treating was a different person and had only used his information to open a line of credit for the procedure. The patient allegedly took out the $45,000 loan and disappeared.
Police are still looking for the patient, who faces charges of fraudulent use of identifying information and tampering with a government document. The dentist office released the single photo they took during the man's first consultation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He's described as being in his 40s, about 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighing 220 pounds.