Dentist Pleads Guilty to Stealing Fentanyl from Patients

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A Rochester, Illinois, dentist, Phillip M. Jensen, 63, pleaded guilty on August 2, 2024, to two counts of drug diversion, two counts of acquiring a controlled substance by fraud, one count of tampering with consumer products resulting in serious bodily injury, and two counts of false statements relating to health care matters. Sentencing for Jensen has been scheduled on December 4, 2024, at the U.S. Courthouse in Springfield, Illinois.

In court before U.S. District Judge Colleen R. Lawless, Jensen admitted to having stolen fentanyl from his patients, which was supposed to have been used to manage their pain during surgery. During the hearing, the government stated that Jensen owned and operated a dental practice in Springfield, Illinois, where he specialized in oral and maxillofacial surgery. He received payment for his professional services through both private and public health care benefit programs. Starting as early as December 2019 and continuing through at least August 2020, Jensen took fentanyl he received, removed the safety caps, withdrew at least half of the fentanyl in the single-use vial, refilled the vial with saline, and glued the caps back on to hide what he had done. In total, Jensen obtained more than 40 grams of fentanyl for his personal use through his fraud.

Jensen admitted that his theft came to light after his surgical assistants noticed patients moaning and moving and saw changes in patients' blood pressure and heart rates that indicated that they were in pain during the surgery.

The counts to which Jensen pleaded guilty included the following. Counts 3, 5, 14, and 15 of Jensen's indictment documented specific patients and specific dates where this conduct occurred. Count 17 set out details of one patient's experience who woke during surgery and was struck in the forehead by Jensen, enduring the extraction of three additional teeth and smoothing of her jawbone, all without the benefit of anesthesia and the fentanyl that was supposed to control her pain. Counts 19 and 20 charged that Jensen made materially false entries into two patients' medical records regarding the fentanyl provided for surgeries and paid for by Molina Healthcare of Illinois. Molina paid Jensen a total of $13,137 for the two procedures.

A federal grand jury returned a twenty-count indictment against Jensen in February 2022. He was originally released on bond, but a warrant was issued in July 2024 for violation of the terms and conditions of bond and the conditions of his pre-trial release, and Jensen was detained at that time. He remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service pending sentencing.

Jensen faces statutory penalties of:

Since Jensen may be ordered to serve the sentences consecutively, he faces a possible maximum sentence of 78 years in prison, up to a $1,750,000 fine, and up to 21 years of supervised release.

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Unit, Springfield Resident Office, which focuses on cases involving pharmaceutical controlled substances diverted from the legal chain of commerce to the illegal drug market, investigated this case in conjunction with the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office, the United States Food and Drug Administration, and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas F. McMeyer and Sierra Senor-Moore are representing the government in the prosecution.