Dental Office Worker’s Fraud Forces Kennewick Practice to Close

A Kennewick dental office has closed, due to fallout from a former office manager using computer software to forge numerous pain med prescriptions for herself and others.

44-year-old Nicole B. Allenton could be facing a year in the Benton County Jail when she is sentenced February 24th.

Authorities say American Family Dental practice closed down recently after it was discovered Allenton was forging numerous pain med prescriptions, much to the dismay of the owner and dentist Kevin Osborne.

Officials say Allenton was working as officer manager because she was suspended from her job as a hygienist for similar allegations stemming back several years. She was accused of writing prescriptions and suspended by the Washington State Health Department in 2012 for failing to respond to those allegations.

Allenton, who used the last name of Polus before her divorce, also was accused of using her position of trust and authority to obtain such prescriptions when she worked for Stout Family Dental four years ago. Her actions apparently led to that practice having to rebuild themselves financially.

Officials at American Family Dental discovered at least 15 prescriptions written without the owner-dentist's approval, many of them to Allenton's family members. Because she was using the Allenton last name, it was apparently not immediately known about her past at Stout Dental. According to authorities, an anonymous tip was given from someone who recognized her from her previous work at Stout, and the investigation began.

Authorities also say she committed over $700 worth of shoplifting at JC Penney's at Columbia Center Mall last summer. Allenton has plead guilty to three counts earlier this month, related to the fraud and prescription issues. She already did time on a work crew last year for the shoplifting charges.