Sandra F. Mansker worked for Dr. Steven Lindstrom of Howards Grove, Wisconsin for over 28 years!! I’m stunned, really – stunned that the amount listed is as low as $40K. Other embezzlers have stolen much higher amounts in less time. Lori Doughty is a prime example. Unfortunately I think this amount will be adjusted upward.
Since Dr. Lindstrom’s software only went back to 1998, that is where the charges start. She allegedly used his signature stamp to forge paychecks and to write checks to herself. Mansker had “total run of the financial operations of our office,” according to Dr. Lindstrom. She is facing up to 47 years for 14 counts of felony forgery and one of felony theft.
Read the article from the Sheboygan Press
Read about Lori Doughty’s $1.9 million embezzlement
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Hi Teresa,
This story astonished me. It blows my mind that anyone would consider doing such a thing. I also wanted to let you know that tomorrow you’ll likely find a link coming from my new dental blog to this post. It blew my mind. I look forward to having further discussion with you.
DA – thanks for stopping in! Embezzlement is a shocking crime – if just one dentist reads this and looks a bit closer at accounts, my goal is met.
I read your blog and I’m so glad to see another dental blogger. I’ll put a Blogstumble up for your blog soon.
To all,
As shocking as this is, it is much more common then many will admit.
An interesting case is an Olmypia, Washington bookkeeper for a dental practice who embezzled $1,900,000 over several years.
As a forensic accountant for mnay years, it still amazes me to see the frequency of internal embezzlement in medical practices. A local case involved the practice manager, who was the godfather of one of the partners children, embezzling more than $200,000.
Some researchers within the dental practice community estimate internal fraud approaching 35% of existing independent practices.
Without proper controls, the crimes and related losses, will continue.
Good luck,
John Hughes, CFE
John – thanks for commenting. It’s heartbreaking to read the stories of people working together for years and at the end of it all, so much is lost: both trust and money.
Hello! I just found out I am also the victim. Our office manager was stealing bulk checks, forging my signature and depositing them in her personal account. The police aren’t doing anything to help. I was wondering how you handled the situation. I just want to know which accounts I need to rectify…apparently we wre billing the ones I found for the balance! UGH!
You should push the police to press charges. The bank will be able to give you copies of the forged checks. I don’t understand how they would not want to help unless there isn’t enough evidence. You won’t be able to get a judgment for restitution until action is taken. It sounds like you will need to spend time on the phone tracking down the claims that are still outstanding so you can accurately bill your patients. This can be damaging to your relationship with your patients if you don’t address this. I’m so sorry this has happened to you – I can’t imagine how betrayed you must feel. Keep me updated if you think about it.
The amount in this case and well as many others are often understated.
In many cases, fraud examiners stop documenting thefts when it becomes inefficient. (i.e.: documenting additional losses will not improve your civil or criminal recovery outcomes).
The majority of frauds that I have investigated are chronic, lasting months or years. By the time these chronic schemes are detected, they are out of control and causing the dentist huge financial pains. Chronic thefts, involving smaller amounts (say less than 5% of revenue) often endure undetected for years (maybe even for someone’s entire career)
It is common to see annual losses in the 40 to 80 thousand dollar range for a single “average income” dentist. Since she worked for this dentist 28 years, I cannot imagine the thefts were so low.
Bill
I agree Bill – perhaps they’re still digging around. It’s hard to imagine that she was able to keep her urges to steal under control for a solid 28 years. Thanks for stopping in!