Pompano Beach dentist accused of practicing without license

A Pompano Beach dentist has been arrested on a charge of practicing dentistry without a license - a year after being accused of bilking the Fort Lauderdale Police Department 's trust fund for dental insurance. And her husband, a Fort Lauderdale police officer, is now under investigation by his agency to see if he broke department rules. Dr. Amy Masri, 37, was arrested Monday after investigators with the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud said she was consulting with a patient despite the fact her license was suspended last year. On Feb. 28, 2007, Masri was arrested on a grand theft charge for billing more than $18,000 in false dental claims to the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 31 health trust fund over a three-year period, according to her arrest reports. The reports say that some of the money was paid to her husband, Officer Sharif Masri, who has been with the agency for 10 years. Prosecutors have declined to charge him in the case. Amy Masri is free on $1,000 bail in the latest arrest. Her defense attorney, James Stark, could not be reached for comment Friday and she could not be reached at home or at her business. She has pleaded not guilty in the 2007 case. It was unclear if Sharif Masri had legal representation. He also could not be reached. The state's initial investigation found that Amy Masri billed the police union trust fund for $18,341.75 for fillings, resurfacing and restoration procedures, according to her arrest report. The report said she claimed to have performed 50 of those procedures on herself, billed under her married and maiden names. Many of the other people she claimed to have performed extensive work on were children, the report said. The Florida Department of Health suspended Amy Masri's dental license shortly after her first arrest in 2007, saying in their order that she was an 'immediate serious danger' to the public and has shown a 'lack of honesty, integrity and moral character.' A year later almost to the day, a detective paid a surprise visit to her Pompano Beach office and overheard her talking with a dental patient about getting porcelain implants, according to Amy Masri's latest arrest report. Despite the arrest a year ago, prosecutors still have not filed formal charges against her in the grand theft charge. Assistant State Attorney Al Guttman declined to comment on the matter. Sharif Masri, a 10-year department veteran, has been on paid leave since October 2006, when the state began investigating his wife, said Capt. Rick Maglione, head of the agency's Office of Internal Affairs. 'It's unknown what his knowledge or involvement was and, if there was knowledge or involvement, to what extent,' he said. The department opened an internal investigation to figure that out this week once it learned the officer would not be criminally charged, Maglione said. 'He is not going to be charged, but that doesn't mean there weren't any issues,' he said. 'We are looking to see if any of his conduct violated any of our department policies.' Meanwhile, the union is left in an awkward position: While the union trust fund is the victim, the union itself may end up paying for Sharif Masri's attorney in the internal investigation. Union representatives declined to comment. Staff Researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report. Read more

[kaz]

She lied to us all regarding why she was behind the desk. She over charge and above all else she billed insurance companies and individuals for work she supposidly preformed on children. Taking advantage of a child is nothing but wrong!!!

[In Dis-belief]

I trusted her with my family and I just can't grasp the blatant lies she told me right to my face. I questioned things in the past and got what I now know as flin flam answers but still I trusted her so called professionalism. Even more so how come the state didn't notify her patients that she had no license until her second arrest I had no idea and in that time she saw my child how dare she. And shame on her what about her own children, what's going to happen to them, they are scarred for life and it's her fault.

[cannot believe]

I'm so shocked by this and always felt something shady was going on and kept telling my friends that she was fired and called my insurance company about her last year, but she seemed so nice.

[past patient]

I think it is her husband behind the whole scam. He has ruined her life and career.