German Fraud

German dentist who faked robbery and injury charged with fraud

April 3, 2013
He cut off his own index finger in the "robbery"
Meg Kaiser, Associate Editor

The German dentist who claimed to be the victim of a robbery in his dental office last March, and who cut off his own left index finger to make it look more realisitc, has been charged with fraud. In all the mayhem, the dentist claimed that the perpetrator's teeth were so bad he was unable to take his eyes off of them during the attack.

The austriantimes.at has the latest story, and a photo of the dreadful teeth that were seen only in Dr. Phillipp Daecher's mind.

For those of you who missed the story the first time, Dr. Daecher claims that two "thugs" in their 20s entered his dental office and robbed and beat him. They slammed his head into a door frame, then trapped his left index finger in a pair of garden shears and demanded money. Dr. Daecher claimed that despite him handing over cash, they cut off his finger.

The "victim" found his way to a nearby grocer, where he collapsed. He was taken to the hospital where he underwent surgery. But since the "robbers" took his finger with them, it could not be reattached. I have to ask ... just what in the world did Dr. Daecher do with his own index finger?

As KIRO.TV asked so eloquently on Buzz:360: "I thought you had to be smart to be a dentist? You're choosing which finger to cut off and you go with the index? Can you even be a dentist without that finger? More importantly, should he even be allowed to be a dentist with that brain?"

According to indylsg.com, police failed to find any trace of the two robbers, and prosecutors now believe that he may have invented the entire scenario to get the six-figure insurance pay-out that losing a finger would get him. Turns out he was in some pretty heavy debt to open his own dental practice.

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About the Author

Meg Kaiser | Associate Editor

Meg Kaiser is an associate editor in Endeavor Business Media’s Dental Division. She works on DentistryIQ.com, RDH eVillage and RDH Graduate newsletters, Dental Economics magazine, and RDH magazine, and has for nearly 20 years. She knew she'd caught the dental bug when she began preaching oral-systemic health to everyone she met. Contact her at [email protected].