What You'll Learn
- How Dana Thompson, described as a "pillar of the 7th Day Adventist community," embezzled $823,000 and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, showing that reputation and religious standing are no guarantee of honesty.
- Why Prosperident CEO David Harris argues dentists should replace one-time character judgments with an ongoing "trust, but verify" approach to practice management.
- The range of embezzlement patterns Harris has personally uncovered, including dentists stealing from co-owners in group practices, spouses embezzling from their dentist partners, and even employee-children stealing from parent-owned offices.
- How Prosperident's Owner Proactive Strategies program and its SOFIA (Data-based Decisions for Dentists) tool are positioned to help owners keep re-verifying trust rather than assuming it once and moving on.
What You'll Learn
- How Dana Thompson, described as a "pillar of the 7th Day Adventist community," embezzled $823,000 and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, showing that reputation and religious standing are no guarantee of honesty.
- Why Prosperident CEO David Harris argues dentists should replace one-time character judgments with an ongoing "trust, but verify" approach to practice management.
- The range of embezzlement patterns Harris has personally uncovered, including dentists stealing from co-owners in group practices, spouses embezzling from their dentist partners, and even employee-children stealing from parent-owned offices.
- How Prosperident's Owner Proactive Strategies program and its SOFIA (Data-based Decisions for Dentists) tool are positioned to help owners keep re-verifying trust rather than assuming it once and moving on.
Let’s Talk About “Trust”
The Mirriam-Webster Dictionary describes trust as “ assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. ”
By David Harris, CEO, Prosperident
I had an interesting discussion the other day with a learned (and outspoken) friend. The topic was the possibility of a spouse embezzling from a dentist. My friend lives in the “real world” and acknowledged the possibility, but also found the topic uncomfortable and probably self-fulfilling (in other words, not trusting your spouse may make embezzlement, and its usual companion divorce, more likely) While I can’t fault my friend’s logic, I can recall a number of situations where spouses committed embezzlement. Typically, these do not become public (because they are resolved as part of the divorce process).
The Mirriam-Webster Dictionary describes trust as “ assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. ”
The way that humans address trust is interesting. To us, trust is binary — someone is either “trustworthy,” or they are not. Also, we have a positive bias in that we want to trust people. And we also want to get the trust question out of the way early in our relationship with a person.
So we assume that certain people are “above suspicion.” I can always surprise an audience of dentists when I show them examples of:
-
Dentists stealing from each other in group practices
-
Spouses embezzling from dentists
-
Children who work in a parent’s office embezzling
Similarly, strong religious beliefs don’t mean someone won’t embezzle. An example of a pillar of the 7th Day Adventist community going to prison for embezzlement can be found here.
Trust, but verify
Are the majority of people dishonest? Of course not. But we need to fight our very human desire to consider people trustworthy because of some personal characteristic they have, or a judgment that we made early in the relationship.
Ultimately, almost anyone can find themselves in a situation where they view stealing your money as the solution to their problems, and we need to be mindful that trust is a concept that needs to be re-evaluated over time.
Trust Is Earned. Verification Is How You Know It Is.
Prosperident's Owner Proactive Strategies help you build a practice culture where trust and verification coexist—so you can lead with confidence without being naive.
Concerned about embezzlement in your practice?
Prosperident is dentistry’s embezzlement expert. Talk to us confidentially — there’s no obligation.
By David Harris, CEO, Prosperident
The Mirriam-Webster Dictionary describes trust as “ assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. ”
I had an interesting discussion the other day with a learned (and outspoken) friend. The topic was the possibility of a spouse embezzling from a dentist. My friend lives in the “real world” and acknowledged the possibility, but also found the topic uncomfortable and probably self-fulfilling (in other words, not trusting your spouse may make embezzlement, and its usual companion divorce, more likely) While I can’t fault my friend’s logic, I can recall a number of situations where spouses committed embezzlement. Typically, these do not become public (because they are resolved as part of the divorce process).
The Mirriam-Webster Dictionary describes trust as “ assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. ”
The way that humans address trust is interesting. To us, trust is binary — someone is either “trustworthy,” or they are not. Also, we have a positive bias in that we want to trust people. And we also want to get the trust question out of the way early in our relationship with a person.
So we assume that certain people are “above suspicion.” I can always surprise an audience of dentists when I show them examples of:
-
Dentists stealing from each other in group practices
-
Spouses embezzling from dentists
-
Children who work in a parent’s office embezzling
Similarly, strong religious beliefs don’t mean someone won’t embezzle. An example of a pillar of the 7th Day Adventist community going to prison for embezzlement can be found here.
Trust, but verify
Are the majority of people dishonest? Of course not. But we need to fight our very human desire to consider people trustworthy because of some personal characteristic they have, or a judgment that we made early in the relationship.
Ultimately, almost anyone can find themselves in a situation where they view stealing your money as the solution to their problems, and we need to be mindful that trust is a concept that needs to be re-evaluated over time.
Trust Is Earned. Verification Is How You Know It Is.
Prosperident's Owner Proactive Strategies help you build a practice culture where trust and verification coexist—so you can lead with confidence without being naive.
About the author
David Harris
Forensic CPA, CFE, CFF, FIADFE — Chief Executive Officer, Prosperident
David Harris is the Chief Executive Officer of Prosperident, the world's largest dental embezzlement investigation firm. A Forensic CPA, Certified Fraud Examiner, and Certified in Financial Forensics, he has led investigations into financial crime in dental practices since 1989 and speaks regularly to dental audiences across North America on detecting and preventing embezzlement.
Book a consultation with David ›