The following information was released by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
A man in possession of a large cache of dental narcotics and controlled substances will be arraigned tomorrow for falsely representing himself and working as a dentist without a valid license. Esteban Campos, 46, Buena Park, is charged with two felony counts of the sale or transportation of a controlled substance, two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance, and one misdemeanor count each of furnishing dangerous drugs without a prescription, dispensing or furnishing a dangerous drug or device, and practicing dentistry without a valid license. If convicted, Campos faces a sentence ranging from probation up to eight years in state prison. He is expected to be arraigned tomorrow, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. in Department N-12, North Justice Center, Fullerton.
Campos is accused of previously being a Registered Dental Assistant in California, but his accreditation expired in 2007. The defendant is accused of operating Steven’s Dental Lab on Western Avenue in Buena Park and illegally representing himself as a dentist and practicing dentistry without a valid license.
In December 2011, the Department of Consumer Affairs Dental Board of California received a complaint regarding Campos and the unlicensed practice of dentistry.
On two occasions in February and March 2012, undercover investigators went to Steven’s Dental Lab under the pretense of being patients in need of dental work. Campos is accused of fraudulently representing himself as a dentist to the investigators. He is accused of performing dental exams, rendering diagnoses, recommending oral surgery and braces, and making a return dental appointment. He is accused of quoting prices ranging from $65 to $2,000, depending on the procedure.
Law enforcement conducted a subsequent search of the defendant’s fraudulent dental office. In the office, Campos is accused of being in possession of a large inventory of controlled substances and narcotics including Morphine Sulfer, Roxicet, Vicodin, and Soma, as well as boxes of dangerous drugs without prescriptions including omeprazole, naproxen, theramine, glucotrol, warafin, napoxen, sertraline, cyclobenzaprine, tramadol, ketogel cream, and lodocaine. He is accused of possessing these drugs and administering them to patients without a license or a prescription in his illegal practice of dentistry.
Anyone who believes they were harmed in the course of dental treatment by the defendant is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Rick Morton at (949) 975-8127 or Dental Board Investigator Patrick Morrissey at (714) 923-9725.
Deputy District Attorney James Young of the Code Enforcement Unit is prosecuting this case.
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