A dentist who stole more than £37,000 from the NHS has been struck off the register at a General Dental Council (GDC) hearing.
In March 2008, Newton Johnson from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, was convicted of 20 counts of theft at Swansea Crown Court .
The jury heard how the dentist had claimed money from the Dental Practice Board, both for ‘phantom patients' and treatment that registered patients had never received, on dates between 6 January 1999 and 6 July 2004.
Johnson, 52, admitted to 20 offences of theft totalling £37,555, while his wife and practice manager pleaded guilty to 17 charges of theft amounting to £32,357.
As a result, the court sentenced Mr and Mrs Johnson to 21 months and 18 months in jail respectively.
The dental care duo were taken to court after a tip-off led to an investigation by the Welsh section of the Counter Fraud Service .
The GDC said the conviction and the resulting sentence proved to its satisfaction given the very serious dishonesty and breach of trust in Mr Johnson's professional capacity as a dentist .
At the GDC hearing, the dental committee said it was concerned that Mr Johnson had shown little or no remorse into his conduct and the fact that it took him two years to acknowledge his guilt.




