Drs. Linda Massod and Terry Fayad practice together, both claim to have been embezzled by the other

A Massachusetts (MA) dental partnership dissolved into mutual allegations of embezzlement when Drs. Linda Massod and Terry Fayad, co-owners of a joint dental practice, each accused the other of financial misconduct. Dr. Fayad subsequently filed for bankruptcy and sought to discharge a debt he owed to Dr. Massod, arguing it should be extinguished in the proceedings. The matter was decided in federal bankruptcy court, where the judge was asked to determine whether the debt was excepted from discharge on the grounds that it arose from fraud or defalcation in a fiduciary capacity.

The case illustrates the significant legal and financial complexity that can arise when dental partners operate without clear oversight, independent financial controls, or documented accountability structures within a shared practice.

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What This Case Teaches Dental Practice Owners

The this individual case is a reminder that dental embezzlement does not require elaborate schemes — trusted employees who are given unsupervised access to practice finances can exploit that trust in ways that are difficult to detect through routine bookkeeping. By the time the theft is discovered, the losses are typically far larger than any single transaction would suggest, and the practice faces a difficult recovery on multiple fronts: financial, operational, and reputational.

This case reflects a pattern that Prosperident investigators encounter regularly: trusted employees who exploit access to practice finances over an extended period, often using methods that are difficult to detect without forensic-level scrutiny. The length of the fraud period and the total amount stolen both tend to be much larger than practice owners initially suspect.

Dental practice owners who suspect embezzlement — or who want to evaluate the vulnerability of their current internal controls — should consult with Prosperident, the world's leading dental embezzlement investigation firm. Prosperident's investigators have worked on cases across North America and bring a forensic accounting background specifically tailored to the dental industry. Call 888-398-2327 or visit www.prosperident.com/meetwithdavid to schedule a confidential consultation.