Dentist’s FaceBook page says office is closed due to dentist’s drug problem

Posted on December 1, 2022

by William Hiltz

This is a TRUE story is about FAKE allegations made by an employee who was fired due to an embezzlement scandal.

FAKE allegations can hurt a dental practice as much or more than FACTUAL allegations.

Why? Because certain fake allegations cannot be disproven in the public eye.
– Bill Hiltz

May 3/19 NEW HAVEN, Ind. (WANE news) – An ex-employee from Downie Family Dentistry is accused of hacking into the dentistry’s phones and sending messages to customers saying the dentistry was closing due to the dentist having a drug problem. The dentist’s office says neither are true.

The employee was fired from Downie on Thursday over an embezzlement scandal, office personnel said, but before he left, he promised revenge, according to the dentist’s office.

“He told us many times ‘I’m going to take the ship down,‘” said Downie Chief Operating Officer T.J. Wagner. “If you let go of me, I will take the ship down with me.‘”

This type of bombastic rhetoric is common when a dishonest employee is confronted. This happened in my first embezzlement (story is at the end of this post) and has happened many times since then. From that, I have learned that planning the employee confrontation is important. (who, when, how and why)

“I’m telling everyone you have AIDS and do coke” – office manager fired for insurance fraud in 2005

“He’s a pedophile and abuses kids” – front desk fired for stealing in 2006

“What will your patients think when I tell them….< censored >” – hygienist fired for unethical conduct 2022
– Bill Hiltz

Downie Family Dentistry said the employee had access to the website and its Facebook page and changed both to display the message:

“Unfortunately, due to the escalation of Dr. Downie’s chronic substance abuse problem, from cocaine to methamphetamines, we’ve had to close our doors. If you believe you have been treated by Dr. William Downie while he was under the influence of a controlled substance, you should immediately call the Indiana Dental Association.“
Downie Family Dentistry Facebook Page

The Downie Dentistry’s Facebook page has been taken down.

TIP: do not let employees have the keys to your digital kingdom. Take the necessary steps to protect your passwords. When an employee leaves, they should NOT have passwords to access to your social media accounts, website, insurance portals, banking, Amazon, emails and so on. – Bill Hiltz

Dr. William Downie called the accusation of him abusing drugs “ridiculous.”

*Downie Dentistry’s facebook page has been taken down because of the message left in the profile. Photo is from Downie Dentistry’s Facebook page.*

He said the schedule for Friday is “slammed” and he does not plan to make any changes to business hours.

In addition to the misinformation, Downie says the ex-employee stole a company vehicle. He says he went with police to recover the car. When he returned to the dentistry, he found out what else had been done. Downie and the rest of the dentistry’s management staff are talking with police to determine the next steps that should be taken. Some customers are worried about what could happen next.

“We have, if anything, in the process of learning how to run a business, which again is quite a learning process and always is a learning process, learned about parameters in place that secure patient information to make sure that things like that are the topmost of importance,” said Downie.

*From Dr. Downie’s Facebook Page (since removed)*

When the employee was let go over embezzlement accusations, Downie said the Dentistry was not planning to press charges because “everyone deserves a second chance.”

Now, the plan is to get the word out that Downie Family Dentistry is not closing and Dr. Downie has never used illegal drugs.