New Jersey man charged with pretending to be a dentist, botched teen's braces

PASSAIC, N.J. -- A man pretended to be a dentist at his wife's practice and illegally performed dental work on patients, prosecutors in Passaic County, New Jersey said.

Forty-one-year-old Oscar Guevara, an x-ray technician, was charged with conspiracy to commit health care claims fraud and practicing dentistry without a license.

Authorities say a 16-year-old girl was among his unsuspecting patients. Guevara allegedly wrongfully installed braces on the girl, who needed follow up and remedial care from a legitimate dentist.

His wife, 37-year-old Dr. Amy Rojas, is an actual dentist, but she has also been arrested.

According to Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes, the couple also committed insurance fraud, submitting false bills for procedures supposedly performed by Rojas that were actually performed by Guevara.

Rojas is listed as the owner of Allure Dental: one office is on Prospect Street in Passaic and the other is on Cedar Lane in Teaneck.

Rojas was charged with health care claims fraud and conspiracy to commit health care claims fraud.

Kenisha Campbell said her daughter was an Allure patient.

"I brought my daughter here, and she got an infection in her mouth. And I had to rush her to the hospital," she said.

Campbell said Guevara performed the procedure, not Dr. Rojas. After her first and only experience, Campbell said she was not coming back anyway.

Allure Dental was open Wednesday, and staff said the doctor was seeing patients and did not have time to speak to our sister station WABC.

A few people who said they were patients did speak about Guevara.

"I just thought he was a partner, never thought he was her husband or anything of that nature," one patient said. "I thought he was an assistant. He would help her on whatever she needed, but I never thought he was actually practicing."

The patient said she was coming for a cleaning, but decided to request her records and leave.

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