4-23-08: Parents Still Complaining About Dentists Abusing Children at Small Smiles

The Below comment was posted on 4-23-2008 from a parent in New York.

It appears despite all the rhetoric the FORBA/Small Smiles Public Relations machine is putting out saying things are 'achangin'. Not one thing has changed as I've been saying all along.

Daily across the country, Small Smile's is continuing to abuse children, nothing can be more clear.

Even after numerous investigative reports from people such as Roberta Baskin, with WJLA'sDeborah Sherman 9News' Investigative Team in Denver, Karen Schideler in Wichita, Kansas and Stewart Watson with WCNC in Charlotte, NC exposing Small Smiles and other DeRose Dental Clinics they refuse to change their ways.




4-23-08

I-Team in Washinton, DC,

kayleigh said...

i took my kids to small smiles last week and it was the worst experience of my life. I went in with my 3 year old son and he screamed through out the entire procedure. he was strapped down and by the time he left he had broken blood vessels all over his neck and face from screaming. the only time they stopped was to restrap him down. their grandmother went in with my daughter and when she came out she has broken blood vessels in her eye from screaming. i've been sick to my stomach over this since i left there. i feel as though i let these people violate my kids.

To Kayleigh:

I understand how terrible you feel. You put your trust in these people to give your children the care they deserves and you were violated. They clearly advertise in such a way to get your confidence in their ability to give children the utmost in care and treatment yet they continue everyday to violate that trust as well as several ethics, and probably a few laws.

It's up to you and people like you to put a stop to this. Recently (April 1, 2008 as a matter of fact) there was a story on WRGB in New Albany about this very thing. For people to think these stories are isolated cases would be a huge mistake.

I hope you called the 800 number I have posted as well as file complaints with your state's dental board and attorney general.

I urge you to step forward and to take action, write to everyone you can about this, post where ever you can about this and file formal complaints to the places mentioned above, as well as your state legislators and call the PRESS!

DeRose Admits To Pueblo Newspaper FORBA, LLC is "Primarily Owned " By DeRose Family

Here's a link to the article if it's not been pulled by now, if the link doesn't work try googles cache. Every now and then I come across an old article or news report that was here one day and gone the next.... hmmm. Anyway if you have access to the newspaper at libraries etc it was in the business section of the April 10, 2008 edition. At this point I think they have reqested google remove the full story from the cashe, but I might be wrong.

Seems like in denying one he's admitting to even more sins!

In this article he's trying to say that the DeRose family still owns the FORBA Small Smiles clinics and this time it's the Medicaid Dental Clinics-Smile Starters-Carolina Dental Center, whatever name he's using this week, that he sold to Tennessee FORBA in 2006 or whenever it was! Let's face it, he's not sold anything to anybody now has he?

I bet one thing about now, not a sole at Arcapita has a clue to what they "invested" in.

What he failed to disclose is that his "Tennessee based" FORBA is also DeRose, offices in the exact same building, the exact same suite number as DeRose Children's Dental Center back in the day!!! I've got links to documents across the land showing this in great detail.

Plus, to top it off, didn't DeRose say just a few days ago to another reporter that he sold those North Carolina Medicaid Dental Clinics-Smile Starters to Dr. Raf Rivera!

I guess by now one can see that it's easy to tell if any DeRose is lying.

His mouth is moving!

Have they not got a dorm in a Federal Prison for Ed DeRose, Michael DeRose, Dan DeRose, William Mueller and Adolph Padula yet?


4/10/2008

The clinics in North Carolina are co-owned by a Pueblo dentist.

THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A chain of dental clinics in North Carolina has paid $10.05 million to the federal government to resolve allegations of Medicaid fraud.
The settlement, announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice, involves Medicaid Dental Center, co-owned by Drs. Michael DeRose of Pueblo and Leticia Ballance of North Carolina.
The federal government had alleged that the clinics presented "false or fraudulent claims . . . to the North Carolina Medicaid program by billing for medically unnecessary dental services on indigent children."
DeRose told The Pueblo Chieftain that the clinics had no connection with the dozens of FORBA clinics nationwide owned primarily by Pueblo's DeRose family. Those clinics were sold in fall 2006 to the Tennessee-based FORBA company for an undisclosed amount.
"MDC was not required to, nor did it, admit any of the government's allegations in order to resolve this matter," DeRose said. "The treatment that is the subject of the settlement was rendered more than 4 years ago. Since that time period, MDC has voluntarily implemented a number of measures to ensure that its dentists are providing quality dental care which meets or exceeds the standard of care in North Carolina."
The Department of Justice said the conduct at issue occurred between 2001-03, and that "the settlement is limited to claims submitted to the North Carolina Medicaid program and does not involve other states . . . During this period, MDC operated dental clinics in Charlotte, Raleigh and Winston-Salem, N.C."
The government claimed that MDC obtained reimbursement for pulpotomies that allegedly were not needed. Pulpotomies, sometimes referred to as "baby root canals," are considered medically necessary in pediatric dental cases when an infection spreads into the pulp chamber of the tooth, requiring the pulp's removal, the Department of Justice explained.
The government also alleged that the clinics placed stainless steel crowns that were not medically necessary.
As a result of the MDC settlement, the North Carolina Medicaid program established a limit of six stainless steel crowns per appointment that it would reimburse, and a limit of six pulpotomy procedures per patient per appointment, the Department of Justice said.
DeRose said in his statement that "we are pleased this matter is resolved . . . The philosophy of the dental clinics is to provide top quality care for children regardless of their economic or social condition. We believe in treating our young patients and their families with the utmost dignity and high quality care."
The settlement required MDC to reimburse the government for "the amount deemed wrongfully billed to the Medicaid program, and to pay substantial penalties to the program. MDC payment to the government represents over twice the amount that MDC allegedly received improperly from the North Carolina Medicaid program."
DeRose and Ballance were disciplined by the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners in 2005, the Department of Justice said, adding however that regular inspections since then "have found MDC's clinics to be substantially in compliance with its standards since 2005."
Daniel Levinson, inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in the Department of Justice statement: "The Medicaid program is intended to assist the most vulnerable Americans and to help ensure that they receive necessary health services, not to unjustly enrich others at the expense of indigent persons."
DeRose said the settlement was reached "to avoid the delay, uncertainty, inconvenience and expense of protracted litigation."

Small Smiles In MassHealth Lists DeRose's Uncle-Adolph Padula

Here is a form listing all the dentist that accept Medicaid in the MassHealth (Massachusetts). You can enter "Small Smiles" or "Padula" where it says "Find" and keep searching through the documents using the down arrow beside the "Find" box.

Check out the names of all the dentist associated with Small Smiles in the different cities in the state!

See a pattern here, I sure do!

And guess what, Michael DeRose's uncle, Adolph Padula is on the list in at least one of the Small Smiles offices and this list is current 4-22-08! And DeRose says he "sold" Small Smiles... yeah, whatever!

Michael DeRose buys record priced home in Pueblo -2003

Michael DeRose bought a home last year in Pueblo West overlooking Lake Pueblo for $3.4 million -- a record price in Pueblo County for what the Assessor's Office terms "a nonagricultural based residence."

link

Kool Smiles- Same Ole Shiz nit as Small Smiles/FORBA

Why Kool Smiles was kicked out of Georgia.

DeRoses, Mueller Reprimand over Dental Management

Osama Bin DeRose Terrorist Training Camp!

This explains why they have so many so called “Dental Management” companies in various states in which they operate.

Up until 2004 the DeRose/Mueller company FORBA, LLC opened up clinics in various states, hired dentists fresh out of school, brought them to Colorado for 2-4 weeks of “training”, taught them their “drilling for dollars” “techniques”, not just in classroom settings but had them in actual clinics tying up children in restraints and teaching them how to con parents into letting them have at their children, taught them how to over bill Medicaid and other various illegal and unethical practices. Dr. Adolph Padula DDS is also a part of this mess, his name in on the Articles of Incorporation of 6^th Street of Denver Dental Clinic. Was he the main trainer? Hmmm I just love it when I see new names cropping up.

For this the only thing the Colorado State Board of Dental Examiners could only get them on participating, aiding and abetting the unlawful practice of dentistry without a licenses since the dentist they brought in did not have a valid Colorado Dental License.

According to documents at Colorado Department of Regulatory Agency website www.dora.state.co.us/doraimages/ (search by last name, “DeRose & Mueller) Edward DeRose is/was President and Vice President of FORBA, LLC. Documents reveal that Edward DeRose, Michael A. DeRose and William Mueller all were reprimanded for bringing dentist from all over the country to Colorado, letting them work (training them to tie down and abuse children) without a licenses.

In a Cease and Desist Order case number 2004-000131 is says:

“The Respondent (Edward DeRose, D.D.S participates and trains dentists in the “new hire orientation and education program” for dentists hired to perform dentistry in the clinics owned by Respondent, and by Michael DeRose, D.D.S. and William Mueller, D.D.S. This program is only offered to dentists hired to perform dental services at these clinics. Respondent states that the purpose of the orientation/education program “is to ensure that all newly hired dentists are comfortable and professionally competent with the operation of the clinic and that they can successfully provide routine general dental care for our children.” According to Respondent, this program provides “all newly hired dentists into our organization an opportunity to spend 2 to 4 weeks in one of our Colorado clinics to observe, understand and perform routine general dental services for children.” Once the dentist completes the program “they will be moved to the appropriate clinic where they were hired to work”

The dentists in the “new hire orientations and education program” are employees of DeRose Children’s Dental Clinic and 6^th Street of Denver Dental Clinic and many of these dentists are NOT licensed to practice in the State of Colorado.”

Another Smoking Gun! - You just can't deny that the DeRose Family of Dental Clinics, Smile Starters and Small Smiles Are All Related!

Adolph Padula is in with Michael DeRose (Meaball Mike), Edward DeRose,(Spaghetti Eddie) and William Mueller and is listed on the Articles of Incorporation of 6th Street of Denver Dental Clinic.

Adolph Padula is listed at least in one state, probably more as a dentist accepting medicaid patients in the MassHealth program.

Dr. Padula is also licensed in Colorado, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Ohio and others.

Now look, we've got Dr. Tran and Dr. Pham coming out of Pueblo, for Kool Smiles

We've got Dr. Padula, (who is an uncle) to Dan and Michael DeRose, in various states with Small Smiles, how much more clear can it be!

Here's the story on the "connection" saying Dr. Padula is Dan and Michael DeRose's uncle.

Dr. Michael DeRose, Dr. Ed DeRose-are not pediatric dentists

If you go to the American Acadamy of Pediatric Dentistry there is NO Dr. Michael A. DeRose nor Dr. Edward DeRose listed as being pediatric dentists, HOWEVER here is where they are listed as Pedodontists! Aren't they only supposed to report themselves as General Dentistry for children?

Click here for this Denver Provider List.

MassHealth Small Smile/Kool Smiles Charted Increase In Claims

Sorry but this is hard to make out under these conditions but you can view it personally at this link: click here

In the following chart filed in a Remediation Monitors Report that has to do with recommendations with MassHealth and dental reimbursements. Note the number of dentist from 2003 and 2006 are 842 and 845 respectively: a difference of 3 providers.

In the second chart please note the great increase in claims! 302,469 was noted for Small Smiles/Kool Smiles in 2006. It was such an increase and large portion of the claims it was worth noting separately! That's a whole lot of unnecessary work don't you think!

Root Dental Management-FORBA Smell The Same

Ryan Patrick Root is another cohort of Michael A. DeRose, period.

Notice the rdm in the email address, Root Dental Management. Ryan Patrick Root is just Michael A. DeRose's front man, who in the end will take the fall.

I don't understand how this ugly man sways so many people in so many states to do so much of his dirty work by allowing him to use their names! Just blows my mind!

Here is an ad placed 3-29-07 linking Ryan Root-Root Dental Management to SmileStarters:

Contact: Roger Walters

SmileStarters

c/o Root Dental Mgmt

Phone: 704-395-6000

Email:

walters.rdm@gmail.com

Associate Dentists – Opportunities available in several areas of North Carolina in state-of-the-art general practices treating under served children and young adults. A desire to work in a positive, team oriented environment a must. Full-time positions in a number of our seven NC locations. Excellent salary and benefits package.

New grads encouraged, a great place to start your career!!!

I've also showed you where Ryan Root is the contact person for Michael A. DeRose, DDS, PC in New York, I even included a link to see for yourself.

Does Root Dental Management smell like FORBA, LLC Dental Management? Of course it does.

We know FORBA, LLC (Small Smiles) is the child of Michael, Ed, and Dan DeRose.

Small Smiles-Smile Starters, Carolina Dental Clinic, Smile High, and more are all children of the DeRose gang of outlaws.

They are releasing information saying Smile Starters is under new management. Where?

What new management?

Dr. Raf Rivera? Well, no! He's been with them for years! Root? No, he's been with Michael for years too!

Just another name change for Michael A. DeRose.

Root Dental Management was formed 3-21-07

It is a corporation formed in Delaware

Wanna take a guess where it's principal mailing address is:

PUEBLO, COLORADO!

Question is, who is Daren R. Root, his name is appearing on some of these documents.

Daren Root is an account with Rice Root

Who Is Dan DeRose-Cashing In On Kids-Another Disgusting DeRose

Ed (Eddie) DeRose, Michael DeRose and Dan DeRose are your children's worse Nightmare!

I'll say one thing:
"These DeRose's have cornered the market Cashing In On Kids!"

Dan, pictured right, is the man who puts the junk food in our schools. As put in one article "Dan DeRose will go down in nutrition infamy", what they didn't know what his part in the trauma and torture of children at the hand of the dental clinics he, his father, Ed, and his brother Michael owned.

Marketing to Children and Young People

(Excerpts from Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, pp. 42-46; 51-57. Sections in blue print are paraphrases and summaries. Words in bold print are important marketing vocabulary.)

Like other school systems in Colorado, District 11 faced revenue shortfalls, thanks to growing enrollments and voter hostility to tax increases for education. The initial Burger King and King Scooper ad contracts were a disappointment for the district, gaining it just $37,500 a year – little more than $1 per student. In 1996, school administrators decided to seek negotiating help from a professional, hiring Dan DeRose, president of DD Marketing, Inc. of Pueblo, Colorado. DeRose assembled special advertising packages for corporate sponsors. For $12,000, a company got five school-bus ads, hallway ads in all fifty-two of the district's schools, ads in their school newspapers, a stadium banner, ads over the stadium's public-address system during games, and free tickets to high school sporting events.

Within a year, DeRose had nearly tripled Districts 11's ad revenues. But his greatest success was still to come. In August of 1997, De Rose brokered a ten-year deal that made Coca-cola the district's exclusive beverage supplier, bringing the schools up to $11 million during the life of the contract (minus DD Marketing's fee). . . .

District 11's marketing efforts were soon imitated by other school districts in Colorado . . . Administrators in Colorado Springs did not come up with the idea of using corporate sponsorship to cover shortfalls in a school district's budget. But they took it to a whole new level, packaging it, systematizing it, leading the way. Hundreds of public school districts across the United States are now adopting or considering similar arrangements. Children spend about seven hours a day, one hundred and fifty days a year, in school. Those hours have in the past been largely free of advertising, promotion and market research – a source of frustration to many companies. Today the nation's fast food chains are marketing their products in public schools through conventional ad campaigns, classroom teaching materials, and lunchroom franchises, as well as a number of unorthodox means.

The proponents of advertising in the schools argue that it is necessary to prevent further cutbacks; opponents contend that schoolchildren are becoming a captive audience for marketers, compelled by law to attend school and then forced to look at ads as a means of paying for their own education. America's schools now loom as a potential gold mine for companies in search of young customers. "Discover your own river of revenue at the school house gates," urged a brochure at the 1997 Kids Power Marketing Conference. "Whether it's first-graders learning to read or teenagers shopping for their first car, we can guarantee an introduction of your product and your company to these students in the traditional setting of the classroom."

…

Dan DeRose tells reporters that his work brings money to school districts that badly need it. By pitting one beverage company against another in bidding wars for exclusive deals, he's raised the prices being offered to schools. "In Kansas City they were getting 67 cents a kid before," he told one reporter, "and now they're getting $27." The major beverage companies do not like DeRose and prefer not to deal with him. He views their hostility as a mark of success. He doesn't think that advertising in schools will corrupt the nation's children and has little tolerance for critics of the trend. "There are critics to penicillin," he told the Fresno Bee. In the three years following his groundbreaking contract for School District 11 in Colorado Springs, Dan DeRose negotiated agreements for seventeen universities and sixty public school systems across the United States . . .

Want to know more and how Dan ended up mentioned in the explosive movie Fast Food Nation, search Dan DeRose Coke.

Michael A. DeRose-Fingers in the New York Medicaid Pot?

Why does Michael A. DeRose need to be an "elector" of New York's State Health Care Reform Act?

What "health care" is he providing in New York under the name of one of his many corporations "Michael A. DeRose, DDS PC that he must "participate in the funding of these initiatives"??

Is there any state Michael A. DeRose is NOT trying to scam money from, or train young naive dentists to torture and traumatize children? Why? "cause Michael Needs The Money" all in the name of poorer families not having access to dental care??

Honestly, the cause sounds noble doesn't it? However anyone who has taken the time to read this blog knows if it's got the stamp of approval from Michael DeRose, Ed DeRose, William A. Mueller or Dan DeRose it's not anything close to a noble cause.

HCRA is a major component of New York State's Health Care financing laws which governs hospital reimbursement methodologies and targets funding for a multitude of health care initiatives. The law also requires that certain third-party payors and providers of health care services participate in the funding of these initiatives through the submission of authorized surcharges and assessments.

Another Child Files Law Suit Against Smile Starters-Medicaid Dental Centers-Tish Ballance-Michael DeRose-Heather Berkhiemer

April 19, 2008

Child sues dentists over care: Lawsuit alleges malpractice in treatment at Medicaid practice

Karen Garloch
Apr 19, 2008 (The Charlotte Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --

A Charlotte child who got 14 "baby root canals" and stainless steel crowns on the same day in 2003 has sued three dentists with Medicaid Dental Center, claiming dental malpractice.

The suit against the privately owned chain of dental clinics was filed a week after the clinics' owners agreed to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that they made fraudulent claims to the N.C. Medicaid program for unnecessary dental work on poor children.

In the suit filed Friday in Mecklenburg Superior Court, Antavia Digsby, through her mother, Angela, alleged the treatment by dentist Heather Berkheimer "fell below the accepted standards of dental care."

Digsby also sued Letitia Ballance of Mooresville and Michael Anthony DeRose of Pueblo, Colo., dentists and co-owners of Medicaid Dental Center, alleging its policy was to "perform as much treatment as possible in one appointment."

Medicaid Dental Center, now called Smile Starters, has clinics in Charlotte, Raleigh and Winston-Salem.

Antavia was 5 on May 9, 2003, when her mother took her to the Charlotte clinic to have her teeth cleaned. Antavia, now 9, was insured by Medicaid, the state-federal health program for low-income and disabled residents.

On that day, the suit says, Berkheimer performed 14 pulpotomies, similar to root canals, and mounted 14 steel crowns on the child's baby teeth.

Employees at the center restrained Antavia by tying her down on "a papoose board" and refused to allow her mother to be in the room, the suit says. Berkheimer documented that Antavia was "very uncooperative and could not follow directions," the suit says.

Berkheimer, who lives in Southern Pines, could not be reached for comment.

Charlotte attorney James Wyatt, who represents Medicaid Dental Center and its owners, said the suit is "utterly without merit. All the dental work that was done was not only necessary but imperative."

He said the child's mother "consented to all of the work. The real question that needs to be asked is why a parent would bring a child in with her teeth in that condition."

Wyatt said last week that his clients agreed to the $10 million settlement to avoid expensive litigation, but they did not admit the government's allegations.

In 2003, WCNC-TV, now the Observer's news partner, revealed allegations that Medicaid Dental Center had performed unnecessary dental work on children.

In 2005, the N.C. Board of Dental Examiners disciplined nine dentists after an investigation of the clinics.

Ballance and DeRose were placed on probation for three years.

Berkheimer and six other dentists who worked in the clinics received written reprimands that will remain permanently in their N.C. files and with the National Practitioner Data Bank.

The other dentists are: John Lyons, Jeffrey Zieziula and Erron Brady, all of Charlotte; Lori Petree and Christopher Ballinger of Winston-Salem; and Michelle Wilkerson of Raleigh.

According to board documents, at least eight children, some as young as 4, had multiple teeth pulled and root canals performed during single appointments at MDC clinics. Some had as many as 16 pulpotomies and stainless steel crowns during the same visit.

Darren Dawson, a Greenville, N.C., lawyer who filed the Digsby suit, said he represents nine families of children treated at MDC clinics in Charlotte and Winston-Salem, and says he'll file more suits claiming that excessive and unwarranted dental work was done.

Board investigators have made unannounced inspections at each of the MDC clinics since 2005, and authorities said they have been "substantially in compliance" with standards.

I would think it might be a bit difficult for the attorney's for Medicaid Dental Center and The DeRose clan to get them out of this mess, since this blogger alone can tract these exact same kind of complaints and allegations dating back years in the DeRose past and current connection to Small Smiles/FORBA, LLC.

With that, and the vast number of complaints that will likely be coming soon against Small Smiles/FORBA maybe finally the DeRose Reign of Terror demise and not one minute too soon!!

Michael A. DeRose is now and always has been directly associated with Small Smiles, as is his father, Dr. Ed DeRose, his brother, Dan DeRose and Dr. William Mueller just to name a few on the short list.

I hope soon to hear that the State of North Carolina and it's Dental Association have ran Tish Ballance, Dr. Michael DeRose and each dentist in the news report above out of the state on a rail. At the least I call on the state to remove, revoke, and ban these dentist from ever practicing dentistry in this state or any other for that matter.

As I have posted on this very blog, Tish Ballance and "others" as well as Dr. Michael DeRose are advertising for employees right this minute to come work at yet another clinic, Access West and more Smile Starters, designed to do exactly for what they are now being sued!

Australia's Policy Statement on Corporate Dentistry-It's Frowned Upon

ADA Policy Statement 4.3 Page 1 of 2 November 21/22, 2002
AUSTRALIAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION INC.
POLICY STATEMENT
CORPORATE OWNERSHIP

1 Introduction

1.1 The Australian Dental Association [ADA] believes that the oral health needs of the
community are best met by a clinically efficient and ethically conducted dentist-owned
practice. This model provides community-based care with adequate opportunity for
continuity of care and patient records [single patient record]. It is possible to facilitate
quality and efficiency gains within the existing framework of dentist-owned practices, and
without the need for equity investment by non-dentists or corporate owners.

1.2 The existing dental workplace landscape includes non-dentist owned facilities for
provision of dental services, including health fund clinics and mutual organizations,
which, in the main, are not-for-profit entities.

1.3 Recent changes to some Australian State and Territory Dental Acts provide opportunities
for the ownership of dental practices by non-dentists and/or corporate entities.

1.4 The ownership of dental practices by entities other than dentists raises significant issues.
2 Community and Professional Interest Issues

2.1 It has been claimed that corporation's will deliver improved economies of scale,
improved patient focus and increased competition. The existing practice profile in
Australia already addresses these areas.

The introduction of an additional management layer and the need to give a return on
shareholder or owner equity -
! could compromise the individual dentist’s ability to practice patient-centered
dentistry, including the formulation of treatment plans and referral of patients,
! could compromise the ethical standards of an individual dentist and patient
treatment outcomes by requiring an agreed turnover, thus affecting the quality
and time needed to be spent with patients,
! could see the achievement of a return on shareholders’ funds or owners’ equity
being placed above the interests and needs of the patient, and
ADA Policy Statement 4.3 Page 2 of 2 November 21/22, 2002
! could result in the development of vertical and horizontal integration structures
and the resultant tendency to inappropriately refer patients and thus increase
the cost base to patients.
2.2 Rural and remote areas with lower population densities could be disadvantaged by the
loss of dentists deciding to work for corporations in larger population centres. This is of
particular concern where patients, because of age, access or equity reasons, would find
difficulty utilising dental services.
3 Primary Legal and Accounting Advice Required Prior to Selling a Dental
Practice to a Corporate Entity
The ADA strongly recommends that any dentist considering the sale of a dental practice to a
corporate entity should seek independent legal and accounting advice. Experience has
highlighted a number of risks when selling a practice to a corporate entity, especially where the
sale is for shares in that entity, or when the dentist contracts to continue to provide dental
services for a new owner.

„„„„„„„„„„„
Policy Statement 4.3
Adopted by Federal Council, November 21/22, 2002.

Trish Ballance and Michael DeRose: North Carolina's Responsibility To Their Citizens

Now that the state of North Carolina is fully aware that Tish (Letitia) Ballance and her partner in crime Michael DeRose are clearly still trying to open and operate more dental clinics will nip that idea of theirs in the bud!

It would most certainly be a HUGE miscarriage of justice to let these two or any of those involved in their crimes back into the business from which they were fined $10 Millions Dollars.

These clinics are designed specifically to entice low income children into their lair for strapping down and drilling out teeth "at will" all for no other reason than to see how much money they can once again defraud from the federal-state medicaid system.

After this blogger found and alerted the media, surly goodness and mercy the people of North Carolina lay down their swords and say enough!

If these two are allowed to treat children and again be allowed to dip their greedy fingers or have access to North Carolina state dental insurance program, well it would just be beyond outrageous!

And anyone with a brain would have to question why they even investigated these two crooks in the first place! Why waste even more tax dollars to investigate for at least 4 years something that you are once again going to turn your back on and pretend didn't happen.

It is unbelievable that these two are only on probation for their cruelty to children, yet allowed back in public to continue their quests. If you've kept up with this blog at all you can see there is a very wide and very very long trail of this kind of behavior from Dr. Michael DeRose, he's not going to change his spots! He and his father and brother, among others created a whole multi-million dollar industry doing this!

These two are no better than any sexual predators that society insists be tracked and kept as far away from children as possible!

Beware of The Following Dentists in North Carolina:

BEWARE of These Dentists:

Dr. Michael DeRose

Dr. Letitia Ballance

Dr. John Lyons

Dr. Jeffery Zieziula

Dr. Erron Brady

Dr. Lori Petree

Dr. Christopher Ballinger

Dr. Heather Berkheimer

Dr. Michelle Wilkerson

Small Smiles FORBA Abuses 188,000 Children Each Year

If FORBA Dental Management treats 750,000+ children across the nation in various clinics under various names like it says it does. (that was in 2006)

And according to reports from former dentist and dental assistants, 25% of the time they use papoose boards and other various torturing methods, do you realize that is

188,000
children abused, tortured and traumatized
every year
by this company alone!

Dan DeRose and His Connection To Small Smiles/FORBA

Cagey looking character isn't he? That's is Dan DeRose (left).

Besides having his name all over many of the Corporate documents associated with Small Smiles FORBA, a "Confidential Document" on the Internet for all to see, (here) (copy at bottom of post) clearly shows that DD Marketing is representing themselves as FORBA, LLC.. (Small Smiles, Smile High...DeRose Dental Dynasty, whatever you want to call them today...)

See Todd Cruse's email address in document as well as the physical address.

So why is his dad, Ed (Edward) and his brother, Mike (Michael) taking all the heat for the years of abuse of children in their various dental clinics?

I was sent an email by Mr. Cruse and invited to tour one of their facilities just the other day, so Mr. Cruse must still work for who....? FORBA or DD Marketing? I bet if you ask him it would depend on what day or letter head was in his printer and to what "hat" he was wearing on any given day.

Anyway, Mr. Cruse gave me a wonderful idea. After talking it over with my mate we've decided to use our summer time off to travel a bit. We are going to visit as many Small Smiles and Kool Smiles in the East and South East as we can. I'm going to take my personal Papoose Board, go to the clinics, ask parents there if their child was strapped down in one of them, do some serious interviews, filming etc. I think this is just a wonderful idea!

Thanks a bunch Todd!

CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, IOWA MEDICAID ENTERPRISE

March 2, 2006

Response to:

RFI: MED-06-025

Vendor Information:

FORBA, LLC

415 North Grand Avenue

Pueblo, CO 81003

719 546 3333

Vendor Business Background:

FORBA, headquartered in Pueblo, CO, identifies, develops and manages clinics that provide dental care to children who are enrolled in Medicaid and the State Child Health Insurance Program (“SCHIP”). The Company’s history began with a solo dental practice in Pueblo, CO in 1928. Over the past 40 years, the Company has focused on children’s dentistry, including serving children eligible for Medicaid. The Clinic in southern Colorado was the first practice in the state to see Medicaid children when dental became a Medicaid benefit for children in 1967. In 1995, the Company expanded beyond Pueblo and opened a Medicaid-only children’s dental clinic in Colorado Springs. The Company’s early expansion was in support of the State of Colorado’s effort to improve access to dental care for the State’s Medicaid-eligible children. Due to the successes of reaching the underserved population from the Colorado clinics, FORBA was formed to develop children’s Medicaid/SCHIP dental clinics throughout the United States. The Company successfully manages dental clinics in fifteen states. The Company currently manages 41 clinics, which in aggregate have approximately 750,000 patient visits per year.

Identification of Services

Expected Outcome: “Medicaid eligible children 12 years of age and under to receive age appropriate dental care by having an established dental home for each child.”

We believe a successful Vendor or provider should provide at a minimum all preventive services contained in the definition of the federal EPSDT standard. In addition to providing the screenings and diagnostics required by EPSDT, a successful Vendor of dental services should have the capacity and experience required to perform restorative services necessary to improve a child’s oral health.

Realizing the geographical challenges within the state of Iowa that a Vendor may encounter when trying to establish a dental home for all children under the age of 12, a Vendor should establish regional general dental clinics and then either establish a mobile dental strategy to reach out to outlying rural areas or establish partnerships with single operating dentists in such rural areas.

KEEP IN MIND, OUR DEFINITION OF A VENDOR IS A PROVIDER AND NOT A MANAGED CARE ORGANIZATION (MCO) OR THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR (TPA) who have to contract with organizations such as ourselves and/or individual dentists to fill out a network.

Local Partnerships

A successful provider of dental services should establish partnerships with local health clinics, school districts, Head Start programs, Title V contractors and other third parties identified as part of the local public health system. The partnerships would require local public health establishments to help the vendor communicate available services by providing mailing lists and prospective patient information to the vendor, in the spirit of access to care, in an electronic format. The Vendor agrees to not share any prospective patient information to ensure confidentiality. The partnership should also encourage members identified as part of the local health system to apply for grants and public funds that would be able to assist with public outreach and awareness of the new services provided by the Vendor.

In addition to any public grant monies made available, the Vendor would be responsible for outreach to the underserved population through direct mailings, social caseworker coordination and on-site periodic screenings in the public school system. Direct mail pieces that would be used to inform the eligible population about the services available would also help to educate parents and children through written oral hygiene information and reminders as to the importance of regular visits to their dental home.

Once a child attends an appointment with the vendor, sufficient time must be invested for an exam, x-rays, prophylaxis, fluoride treatment, preventative education and consultation with parent or guardian regarding further treatment needed. Appointments for restorative work and six month recalls will be made and it will be the Vendor’s responsibility to confirm these appointments and get them rescheduled if the appointments are broken by the patient.

How Service Shows Fulfillment/Progress

The dental services articulated above will fulfill the expected outcome of receiving appropriate dental care by definition of providing preventive, diagnostic and restorative work on the child’s teeth.

The regional dental clinics of approximately 8000 square feet will provide the dental home contemplated by the RFI itself and settle the issue of geographical challenges mentioned above. We know Iowa is divided up into quadrants and it is possible we could put 1 clinic in each quadrant in a population center and then work our regional rural strategy out of the main clinics in each quadrant [the mobile van and partnerships with single dentists in rural areas]. This provides a physical dental home for each child under the age of 12 throughout the state of Iowa.

How Vendor Shows Fulfillment/Progress

In order to measure the progress of a program that includes a network of regional dental facilities and local public health system partnerships, a study of the number of children receiving patient visits prior to the “roll out” of a successful Vendor’s program would need to be conducted by the state of Iowa. Using that report as the benchmark starting point it would then need to be compared on a semi annual basis to data provided by the Vendor of those patients who actually experienced a dental visit once the program had commenced. The study should include information based on age band and regional residence of the patient population, in addition to general oral health conditions. This reporting will prove out the dental home statistics needed by the State of Iowa for compliance purposes. We understand the state of Iowa attached data in this regard to this RFI and we would request this data to be updated as often as possible over the ensuing months and years as it will be necessary to measure progress on achieving the expected outcome outlined in the RFI.

The actual construction of the dental clinics will show progress toward the expected outcome. Once financing of the dental clinics is put in place and the location is decided upon, ground breaking to opening can happen in less than 120 days. The full scope including the front end work can be done in 6 months, beginning to end. There would be obvious overlap if the clinics were not built all at the same time. If one contractor was used, all four clinics could be built within 12 months.

We realize that we represent a different business model than a MCO or TPA and that any proposal from us ultimately would be different from such MCO or TPA.

Vendor Contact Information

Todd R. Cruse FORBA, LLC 415 N Grand Ave. Pueblo, CO 81003 Chief Development Officer 719-546-3333 work 719-546-3334 fax tcruse@ddmktg.com

Kevin G. Reilly FORBA, LLC 415 N Grand Ave. Pueblo, CO 81003 Director Special Projects 719 546 3333 work 719 546 3334 fax kreilly@ddmktg.com

Questions about Arcapita and FORBA Dental Management

Where and how did Arcapita get all messed up in this. I mean for 460.3 million dollars as is reported that at some point was given to someone (several someones, several LLC's, INC's whatever..more on this one) for FORBA, LLC what did Arcapita get? (...a mess is what I'm thinking...lol...just kidding guys, don't get bent all outta shape)

Again I'm confused because in some reports it says that Arcapita Bank got FORBA for 142 million in Jan. 2007 see here.

Then other reports (arcapita's annual report) of Aracapita (no bank on this one) got FORBA for 460.3 Million! WOW that's a huge profit in little under a year!!!

WOW!!

Or did Arcapita get FORBA at all... Hmmmmm .... I dunno...

Earlier posts raises big questions about that.

Dr. Michael DeRose- Was He Patient Shopping Through Head Start Program

My son was seen by the Dentist Dr. Michael Derose in Pueblo Colorado back in 2000.

The dentist went to visit him at the Head Start and said he needed work done at that time which included 5 caps and 2 baby root canals.

Appears Dr. Michael DeRose was using Head Start to patient shop. Many, not all, dentist go under the guise of helping the children who can't get to the office.

I did not understand this. I took him to another dentist who said he needed to be seen in Pueblo by this dentist because my son would not sit still and let him look at his teeth.

Who was the other dentist you took your child to? They may have been in cahoots together.

I took him to Pueblo for his visit and waited for about 3- 4 hours while my son was taken to the back for work on his teeth.

Before he went in I asked started to follow the dentist and my son to the back and he said that parents were not to go to the back because it made it harder for them to work on the children.

This is such crap! Now, I know sometimes children do behave better when parents are not around, but never let any kind of treatment like this happen without you being present. Ok, I understand an operating room, but guys know what I mean.

He said we will look at his teeth and if we have any questions we will come back and talk to you.

I was getting really impatient and went to the side of the building where my car was parked to get something from the car.

I heard this child screaming from the other side of the wall. He was screaming in pain.

I stopped to listen by putting my ear to the outside of the wall and realized it was my son! You can tell they were hurting him by the crys he was making.

He was screaming. A few times it sounded like they would cover his mouth so that he would not scream. I hurt him gag like he was choking. I immediately went and got my husband to come and listen too.

I went inside and asked the receptionist to check on my son. She came back and said that the doctor said he was fine he was just upset because they had to hold him down.

I waited a little longer and the doctor came out to talk to me and let me know what was done. He said that my son had gotten sick because of the crying he did and the medicine they used.

I'm sure now you know the horrible torture your poor child experienced. I am so so so sorry for you and your son. How heartbreaking!

When my little boy came out he was sweating and could barely talk and said Dr.hurt, dr hurt. My son was still in the process of learning how to talk at that time.

The whole time driving home he cried and said dr. hurt me dr hurt me. He could not even eat.

He was supposed to return to have more work done but I never took him back.

Recently I looked in the paper and saw that this dentist was completing unnecessary work on children with medicaid and hurting them.

I was so upset and angry because my son was being hurt for no reason and I could not be back there for him.

They are making this man pay 10million back to the government.

Why is he not charged with abuse on a child? He hurt these children and traumatized them.

EXACTLY, Toni. Why is HE and other dentists that do this not in prison like all the other child abusers out there!!?? Sorry to say it's because it goes unreported. What Dr. Michael A. DeRose and his cronies have done to thousands and thousands of children across the nations is unacceptable! And these guys not only had private practices doing this, they started a whole industry set up to abuse and traumatize children and take millions and millions of dollars of your tax money for doing so! How any of those involved in this sleep at night is beyond me. I thank you, Toni, for stepping up and telling your story. That takes a lot of courage. Many parents don't want to speak out for so many reasons. One, is they are afraid it would make them (the parents) look bad, or been duped or taken advantage of, etc. I've heard one story where a dentist would call child protective services and report you for child neglect if you refused to let him do his "drilling for dollars"! Yep, it's true! Not just one parent either...many! You shouldn't! These guys dress up in authoritative garb, they are supposed to be educated, you are supposed to trust them. Our government even says you can trust them, by giving them tests and training and licensing etc. If you can't trust your doctor, dentist etc, who can you trust, right?

Please, Toni and parent like you, step up and file a complaint with Colorado's dental board! Keep a copy of the complaint you file as well.

This is something that people are really going to have to step up and report before it will ever end. Thanks again, Toni for letting your story be heard.

_____

This is just appalling isn't it?

At least 27 Corporate Identities for DeRose Dental Family of Companies

First I'm thinking to myself, these people and those yet to be named out loud have to just absolutely hate the Internet! And you gotta know they HATE me beyond words. I expect to start getting threats any day now...

I know they are so wishing this would just go away, Small Smiles, Kool Smiles, Smile Starters, Smile High, The DeRose's, Drs. Tran and Pham, all of them!

You know when I will go away, when they are run out of the country, doors closed on each and every abusing dentist office across this nation and a huge bon fire of papoose boards is lit at our nations Capitol, so it looks like I'm going to be doggin this subject and those involved for a very very long time!

When they first started this Kruelty To Children dental business plan, they couldn't have foreseen how much of their information would be available to just anyone who wanted to take the time to find it.

Second, I'm kinda just thinking out loud here,... trying to get the mass of information I've collected in some kind of order in my head, but at this point, it's spinning!

Where and how did Arcapita get all messed up in this. I mean for 460.3 million dollars as is reported that at some point was given to someone (several someones, several LLC's, INC's whatever..more on this one) for FORBA, LLC what did Arcapita get? (...a mess is what I'm thinking...lol...just kidding guys, don't get bent all outta shape)

Again I'm confused because in some reports it says that Arcapita Bank got FORBA for 142 million in Jan. 2006 see here.

Then other reports (arcapita's annual report) of Aracapita (no bank on this one) got FORBA for 460.3 Million! WOW that's a huge profit in little under a year for someone!!! WOW!!

Or did Arcapita get FORBA at all... Hmmmmm .... I dunno... cause ...well read on...


But according to documents I find, FORBA, LLC is really LIC SAC, LLC...owned by Dan DeRose... or is it really... Hmmmm..... I dunno... read on.... (yes, I said LIC as in Lick and SAC as in Sack)


I don't understand how private investment firms or large Investment Banks, like in Arcapita works. Not one clue. Can anyone honestly tell me if Arcapita Bank owns all these Small Smiles/FORBA or did they just put up a huge amount of money for these guys to build some more clinics, torture chambers as some would say.

I know the real movers and shakers, who facilitated and participated in this DeRose-FORBA, LLC-Small Smiles-Arcapita thingy visit hear nearly everyday. I'm sure they understand the whole thing.

According to the Colorado Secretary of State, FORBA, LLC changed it's name to LIC SAC, LLC 10-2-06 and is currently delinquent in it's filings with the state of Colorado.

Sooooooooooooo, if FORBA, LLC is operating in Colorado or any state that requires it, shouldn't there be a "Foreign Entity" filing for ya? (HINT! HINT!) I didn't find one in Colorado, Tennessee or the famous Delaware. (for those reading that don't know, Delaware is a common place to file your Corporation because of it's protective laws among other things)

I've gone back and gone over all the document filings a bit more, (not much I admit) and MY GOD, talk about name changes, flip flopping corportations, LLC's and DBA's, honestly folks!

It would take 10 lawyers, 35 CPA's and a tree chart the size of a football field to line all of it out and 20 years. (hmmm...bet that is just the way it was planned) And I know good and well, all of these companies require a full service CPA firm, with a house full of accountants dedicated to only Edward J. DeRose, Michael DeRose, and Dan DeRose and all their many companies.

Back in the day, prior to Internet and access to the files at the secretary of states, it would take federal agencies years to sort it all out, then I'm not sure it would be right.

I admit, about the time I get in figured out in my head, I get confused once again. I know the (think I know) the "donor sperm" for all the companies to follow was Smile High Partners back in 1998, no wait, it's DeRose Children's Dental... Crap! I'm confused again.

Here are just a few company names I've fan across in just three states all trailing right back to the DeRose Dental Corruption Family: (I'm sure this is just the tip of the iceberg)
TIP: For any of you that decide to check out the sos website in North Carolina, you have to hit everything twice for some reason). God only knows there must be at least this many more I didn't find!
Smile High Partners
Smile High Dental Partners
Smille High Dentistry For Children, PC

FORBA, LLC
FORBA Mangement, LLC
FORBA, Inc
FORBA Holding, Inc
FORBA Services (wonder what kind of servicing they do?)
Sanus Inc
Sanus Holding, LLC
Sanus Servies, LLC,INC, whatever...

DeRose Children's Dental Center, Inc or LLC (something or other, I forget at this point.)
DeRose Children's Dental Center, PC
DeRose Management, LLC-consulting service for dental clinics
Dr. Michael A. DeRose Professional Corporation
Edward and Michael DeRose Corporation
Lazarus, LLC see here
6th Street of Denver Dental Clinic
Children's Medicaid Dental Clinic in Aurora, CO

Small Smiles
Small Smiles Holding
Small Smiles of ________ (insert many different names of corporations here it, pretty much any city they have a clinic in or did at the time)

Medicaid Dental Centers
SmileStarters or Smile Starters
Carolina Dental Center
Ballance-DeRose, D.D.S., PC
Michael Anthony DeRose, DDS, PC
MAD, LLC
Friends of Football, Inc

Then there is Tran and Pham leaving Smile High and creating:

Kool Smiles
Kool Smiles 2
Kool Smiles Holding (does anyone see a pattern here beside me)

BTW, to those out there that think ffl owns Kool Smiles, that is inncorrect:
Here is what FFL Partners.com says:

Kool Smiles manages dental clinics providing oral healthcare primarily to pediatric Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (“SCHIP”) patients, a niche on which few dental healthcare providers concentrate. This lack of access for children on Medicaid provides an attractive market opportunity to Kool Smiles as it continues to build additional clinics with a mission to provide quality care to this underserved population.
The company is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. FFL invested in KoolSmiles in 2004 to provide liquidity to founders and growth capital.

Clearly Kool Smiles is up to exactly what Small Smiles, FORBA, and the DeRose's private clinics have the exact same business model.

Wouldn't you just love to get a look at their "Mission Statement"!!

There are thousands and I mean thousands of posts all across the Internet of horrific treatment of children by Kool Smiles, knows to others who have had experiences there are Kruel Smiles.

Each and every time these companies hire big and I mean big PR firms to spread their corporate propoganda. (hell I be the hire people to spend hours on the Internet make false positive posts about these places)

A person can't even count the number of statements saying the negative reports are false, misleading, from disgruntled employees, isolated incidents and blah blah blah.

But there just can't be thousand and thousands of horrible stories and reports from people all across this nation and them not be true factual statements!
A Few of all the LLC, INC's, PC's, and CC's (joking about the cc's, but there does seem to be a pattern of carbon copie companies, but that would make them, ccc's wouldn't it...oh well....) are defunct, but not many of them. Most are current with all their required filings with the Secretary of State in Colorado. FORBA, LLC - LICSAC,LLC is delinquent.

A couple have different address, but most have either one or two:

415 N. Grand Street, Pueblo, CO where DD Marketing has it's location. (Dan DeRose, well he helps schools raise money, he's dad and brother don't seem to need his help doing that...lol) (Wait, does anyone see a pattern here... children, schools, dentist, children,... )

And most of the others use the 618 Church Street, Suite 520 address in Nashville. The only one to really venture off to a new address is Sanus and it's various names and it uses 111417th Ave South, Suite 201, Nashville, TN.

Is it just me, or does it seem that they just have too many company names?

I mean I understand some, really I do. But not this many! I would understand a mother/father company for all the dental clinics and maybe each location have it's own corporation.

I would understand one for the Real Estate. And one for the Management Service.

But the others just seem like trying to bury themselves in a very long paper trail, so why would you need to do that, being you are all up and up in the business community and all.

Honestly and I'm not kidding here... I think a couple of times, they changed the names of one of the companies, back and forth twice!

Hiding and Campaign Contributions seem two "sneaky" reasons to have so many. According to campaign records many of the company names as well as each individual and their spouses were "major" contributors to Governor Bill Ritter and The Colorado Republican Committee.

-------

At first in all of this I was thinking why real Pediatric Dentists "Pedo's", as they are referred didn't throw a fit about these people, but then I realized they keep from stepping on the toes of their peers by catering (exploiting, torturing, abusing, traumatizing) poorer families and children, whose parents couldn't come close to affording going to a real pediatric dentist, heck I sure couldn't afford it.

But then you have to assume this doesn't just happen to public assistant children, it happens to private pay children, and private insurance companies as well...

One other thought here:
Something tells me if a person put Kool Smiles and Small Smiles FORBA on the auction block today, they wouldn't get much for it! If Arcapita owns/invested in/backed/purchased,whatever, they got majorly screwed last year or the prior, which ever is correct, didn't they?

DD Marketing-Dan DeRose-Forba Web Address

So the DeRose's say they actually sold all their various clinics under all the name variations I've wrote about to FORBA.

In a few prior posts I've shown where they did little more than file Corporate Name Change forms in Colorado, the change the name of the door at the Nashville, TN Church Street Address, right.

And from all the "press" the companies (really one or two companies, just name changes remember) it's reported that FORBA (Holding, LLC, INC pick one..) bought all these clinics and the great growth of Small Smiles Across America started.

Wonder why Dan DeRose's (right) company, DD Marketing in Pueblo, CO, 415 N. Grand, AV had his website promoting DD Marketing at......


.....are you ready......

Forba.com in Jan. 2007.

Of course it's not that way now, but it was.










...and it's an exact copy if you were to go back and look at what ddmktg.com looked like in Dec. 2004 you would see the exact same website. It's been redesigned since, but not by much.

DDM-DD Marketing says:

....DDM has been successful in the management of Capital Campaigns for a variety of projects across the country. Grant writing, donor prospecting, donor research, pledge management, auditing, day to day staffing and special event planning are a few of the areas of expertise DDM brings to each contract.

Hmmm...............

DD Marketing also has a division called The Media Center.

Here's what they say about it:

The Media Center is the advertising division for DD Marketing's projects. Media Center's services include concept & creative development, graphic design, video and audio production, media buying, web, research, data-mining and direct mail. Recently their Beyond The Medal of Honor film documentary received two Emmy awards and four nominations. To learn more go to: www.beyondthemedal.com

Contact The Media Center: brad@mediacentercolorado.com

Dan is the original Agent and Incorporator of FORBA, Inc.

More Trouble for FORBA-Small Smiles-Michael and Ed DeRose

Man these guys are in deep poo poo all over the place aren't they. Everyday there is breaking news, keeps a person busy for sure. My goodness there's so much crap on these people a person would need a novel the size of War and Peace to get it all lined out.

Torturing Children, Not paying their employees, ripping off our tax dollars, have more corporations than 5 people could keep track of... on and on!

From all the visits to this site over the last few weeks, especially today and yesterday, the folks at Creighton University are a bit bent outta shape over the shame the DeRose's have brought the the university.

In case you aren't aware, Michael and his dad Ed and mom, whatever her name is have their hands and name on all sorts of things at Creighton. Honors here, and honors there, and seats on this and that. Guess they've given millions of dollars to the place.

Wonder how the folks at Creighton feel about how they got all that money the DeRose's gave? Do people not ask where it came from anymore? I mean, really, wouldn't a person ask if these people were putting themselves out there to helping the poor, how they had so much money!

Look at 'em. They have now cheated their own employees out of money to live high on the hog! Aren't you people sick to death of the DeRose's, Small Smiles and FORBA??

C'mon!

http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2006/10/16/focus4.html
October 2006
News Release From the Department of Labor

Pueblo Children’s Dentistry Company to Pay More Than $343,000 in Back Wages to 523 Employees

Agreement with U.S. Department of Labor Settles Overtime Pay Violations

PUEBLO -- Forba LLC., doing business as Small Smiles Dental, Pueblo, Colo. has agreed to pay $343,479 in overtime back wages to 523 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The Pueblo-based firm operates 27 children’s dentistry offices in Colorado and nine other states including Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and South Carolina.
“This investigation reflects the Labor Department’s commitment to ensure that employees receive the full wages they have earned,” said Alex Salaiz, Wage and Hour Division district director in Denver. “Employers must make sure they pay their employees for all hours worked and that the exemptions allowed under the regulations are properly applied.”
The employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to pay for all hours worked and by erroneously classifying non-professional employees and clerical staff as exempt from overtime.
The company agreed to future compliance and payment of all back wages.
Enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, the FLSA requires that employers pay covered workers at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked more than 40 in a single workweek. Employers also must maintain adequate and accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment.
For more information about the FLSA, call the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 1 (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243) or contact the Denver District Office at (720) 264-3250. Information is also available on the Internet at www.dol.gov/esa/whd.

Michael DeRose Still Looking For Grads To Work At Smile Starters

WOW and I thought he had nothing to do with Smile Starters.
Guaranteed starting salary 144k, new grads welcome, great place to start!
Funny how Tish (Letitia Ballance) and Mike (Michael DeRose) both put adds out at various Dental Schools for dentists to come join in their supposedly (new and separated) dental clinics about the same time. Tish says it a "group", wonder where she found others to "group" with on such short notice. Remember Tish has Access West in Asheville, and Mikie has Smilestarters (all one word if you go searching for it).

Honestly, you just gotta love these guys for keeping on keeping on, don't ya?
thesmilestarters.com

The Ad was posted 2-2008!
Scroll about 1/2 way down the page: here

SmileStarters is a general practice focusing on access to care for underserved children and young adults in North Carolina. We have seven locations throughout NC including Charlotte, Raleigh, Winston Salem, Greensboro, Fayetteville, and Asheville with plans for expansion. We offer excellent guaranteed salaries beginning at $144,000 and up with comprehensive benefits including health, life, disability, and malpractice insurance, paid vacation, 401K, CE time and fees and much more. If you have a desire to work in a modern, team oriented, positive environment, come help us to make a difference a smile-at-a-time!! New graduates are encouraged, a great place to begin your career.

Contact: Roger Walters-704-395-6000, walters.rdm@gmail.com
Owner listed as Michael DeRose, 2211 E. Executive, Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28208

What's better (or worse, depending on how you look at it, is that all these ads are google cashe'd so they are gonna be there for a while even if they delete them.

DeRose Children's Dental Clinic-Nashville TN-FORBA-SANUS-Trail

According to the Colorado Secretary of State's Website the DeRose's, Michael A and Edward J. incorporated a company called DeRose Children's Dental Clinic in 10-1-1975 located in Nashville, TN at 618 Church Street, Suite 520.

And guess what, this corporation is still in good standing with the state so evidently it's still up and running and filing annual tax returns and reports, however it looks like it did a name change Dec. 10, 2001. Looks like there may have been a trade name change at some point to Edward J. and Michael A DeRose, Inc or visa-versa.

But here is where it really gets interesting. The DeRose Duo say they have no affiliation with Small Smiles whatsoever right? They changed the registered agent of Corporation above in 8-17-2007 to National Registered Agents, INC in Denver, but the paper was delivered to the CO Secretary of Sate via a Linda Zoeller at the same old Nashville, TN, Church Street Address.

That's 32 years at that same address! WOW, could FORBA have an address on Church Street in Nashville?

On 12-7-2007 they filed their annual report with the CO SOS and still listed DeRose Children's Dental Clinic as the name and Nashville, Church Street as the address. Hmmm....

Are you ready... Here's the Biggie!! Ready??!!

Trade Names Listed under this Corporation and FORMED on 9-17-2007, just a few months ago:

Small Smiles Dental Centers Of Pueblo
Small Smiles Dental Clinic Of Pueblo
Small Smiles Dental Center
Small Smiles of Pueblo

....and the True Name of Registrant is....

DeRose Children's Clinic mailing address at the Church Street Address in Nashville, TN!

So I take the time to look up FORBA and I find a few names, one, FORBA Management involved Dan DeRose, but was dissolved in 2001 or 2002.

However! There is still:
FORBA, LLC, FORBA, INC and FORBA Holding, LLC, there is also FORBA Group incorporated in Delaware, as the others are, on 7-9-2007 are but I don't have info in it at this time, give me a bit.

Let's start with FORBA Holding, LLC- The documents say it's TRUE NAME IS-Sanus
and it's annual report file in November 2007 is still the old DeRose Children's Dental Clinic in Nashville. Linda Susan Zoeller still doing the document filing.

FORBA, LLC says it was formed 10-01-2002 and at present it's delinquent in some of it's filings. It also says that Daniel E. DeRose is it's registered Agent and It's True Name is LICSAC, LLC. (cute). By the way, it's a full year late in filing it's annual report with the State of Colorado, however I bet it gets filed soon since so many FORBA dudes hang out here.

LICSAC, LLC is also delinquent in it's state filings and there's Danny boy again, listed as the registered agent. It was formed 10-2002. It's two years delinquent in it's state filings so it's not in good standings with the state of Colorado either.

So what we have here is FORBA Holding, LLC is really Sanus.
FORBA, LLC is really LIC SAC, LLC (guess they thought we would get confused trying to say that one a couple of times real fast, instead say it slowly..nothing but class, this bunch!)

Sanus Holding says it was formed 9-25-06 and has the same Church Street Address as above. Yet according to the press releases (aka propoganda) they say Sanus MOVED to Nashville, and FORBA moved to Nashville, whatever, but in reality it was nothing more than names being changed on the office doors.

It's in good standings thanks to Linda Susan Zoeller, wow, didn't she work for DeRose Children's Dental Clinic, well yes she did!

Now we have Sanus Services, INC and guess where it's located, yep, Church Street in Nashville, TN. Busy place, that 618 Church Street, Suite 520! Sanus Services goes under the name FORBA Services...located...well you get the picture now right? Once again, this is in good standings thanks to Linda. I bet she spends most of her days trying to figure out what to file in what name and in what state, hope she's paid well to keep her mouth shut.

After a while it looks like the DeRose's got wise and just used a company that does this kind of thing to be it's registered agent. The Corporation Company aka The United States Corporation Company aka CSC-Lawyers Incorporating Service

So there you have it, the paper trail so to speak and it all leads right back to Edward J. and Michael A DeRose with Danny DeRose getting used a bit in the mix.

I've got way too much time on my hands don't I?

I bet Tish Ballance wishes she had done her homework before getting into business with these guys.

And they say they have nothing to do with "Small Smiles" Whateva!

Ballance -DeRose DDS PA

After looking over the Articles Of Incorporation for Ballance-DeRose, DDS PA it appears another name needs to be added to the list of people involved in dental practice. There are three people listed:

Michael Anthony DeRose
Letitia L. Ballance
Robert D. Hinshaw

with Michael Anthony DeRose listed as Registered Agent.
and Robert D. Hinshaw the Incorporator
It was signed 10-16-2003

This corporation is still current and active

There is also a Michael Anthony DeRose, DDS PA corporation listed in North Carolina with Mike being the sole director and incorporator.

This corporation was formed July 12, 2001 and is also current